- Foreign Secretary to launch new exchange scheme for young
British and Indian professionals to live and work in the two
countries
-
will also announce the UK
is to appoint a Tech Envoy to the Indo-Pacific region
- He will continue to call out Russian aggression in Ukraine at
a foreign ministers meeting for India’s G20 Presidency and urge
partners old and new to work together to tackle the most urgent
global challenges.
Foreign Secretary is visiting India to mark a
new scheme allowing young Brits and Indians to live and work in
each other’s countries for up to two years, which was announced
by the Home Secretary earlier this week.
The Foreign Secretary will today (1 March) meet his counterpart,
External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, ahead of
foreign ministers gathering in New Delhi tomorrow (2 March). They
are expected to discuss progress on the UK-India 2030 Roadmap,
which aims tobolster the two countries’ ties in defence and
security, trade and investment.
During a visit to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in
Delhi today (Wednesday), the Foreign Secretary will mark the
opening of the Young Professionals Scheme, an ambitious new
partnership between the UK and India which allows up 3,000 Brits
and 3,000 Indians a year the right to live and work in the other
country for up to two years.
The Foreign Secretary will also announce the creation of the UK’s
first Tech Envoy to the Indo-Pacific region, who will boost ties
with India as a priority. This envoy is the second of its kind to
be announced by the UK (after the appointment of a Tech Envoy to
the US in late 2020) and demonstrates our commitment to the
region and tech-diplomacy.
The new Tech Envoy role will boost the UK’s status as a science
and tech superpower. The envoy will work with our partners in the
region on areas of shared interest, including setting global
technology standards and helping to solve challenges through
innovative technology.
Foreign Secretary said:
“India is a hugely important partner to the UK and the deeper
ties we are forging now will help to grow the UK economy and
boost our industries for the future. This landmark migration
scheme will enable the brightest and best in both our countries
to benefit from new opportunities.
“India is also an emerging global leader on technology and there
are immense opportunities for better collaboration between us in
this sector. That is why we will be basing our first Tech Envoy
to the Indo-Pacific region, to maximise the tech expertise of
both countries.”
India has the world’s third highest number of tech unicorns and
start-ups, with 108 start-ups gaining the unicorn status of a
private company valued at over $1 billion. This announcement
illustrates the UK’s clear commitment to boosting partnerships in
India and across South Asia.
On Thursday the Foreign Secretary will attend the G20 Foreign
Ministers meeting to work with partners to advance global efforts
on food and energy security, climate change and development. He
will also continue to call Russia out at the G20 and work with
partners to mitigate the global impacts of Russian aggression in
Ukraine. If the war were to end today, the effects of the
exacerbated food insecurity would still run into 2027.
The Foreign Secretary will also address an India-Europe business
event in the capital where he will reaffirm the UK’s commitment
to conclude a Free Trade Agreement with India. With more
links than almost any country in the Indo-Pacific region,
the UK-India trading relationship is already worth £34 billion,
growing by £10 billion in one year.
Notes to editors:
- The UK-India relationship goes from strength to strength.
Since the 2030 Roadmap was launched in 2021, huge progress has
been made, including on Covid-19 vaccine and health
collaboration, advancing the transition to clean energy, cyber
security cooperation and the expansion of our defence and
security partnership.
- You can find images from the visit here.
- You can find more information on the Young Professionals
Scheme here.
- The UK deployed its first Tech Envoy, Joe White, to San
Francisco in 2020.
