Bolstering economic and migration ties and delivering further
growth opportunities for British businesses are set to be at the
top of the Foreign Secretary's visit to India this weekend.
Foreign Secretary will travel to New Delhi to
further advance an ambitious UK-India relationship during talks
with the Indian Government, including Prime Minister Modi and
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, alongside government
officials.
The visit follows the historic Free Trade Agreement signed
between the two countries and will deliver on this government's
commitment to boost jobs and prosperity back in the UK, as part
of the government's Plan for Change. The new deal with India is
expected to increase bilateral trade by over £25 billion every
year, UK GDP by £4.8 billion, and wages by £2.2 billion each year
in the long run, putting money back in the pockets of working
people.
The Foreign Secretary will also welcome progress in our migration
partnership, including ongoing work on safeguarding citizens and
securing borders in both countries. Addressing migration remains
a top priority for the government - the Foreign Secretary is
focused on working internationally with global partners to secure
the UK's borders at home.
Foreign Secretary said:
“India was one of my first visits as Foreign Secretary, and
since then has been a key partner in the delivery of our Plan for
Change. Our relationship has gone from strength to strength –
securing our future technologies, adding over £25bn in trade
every year between our countries and deepening the strong links
between our cultures and people.
Signing a free trade agreement is just the start of our
ambitions - we're building a modern partnership with India for a
new global era. We want to go even further to foster an
even closer relationship and cooperate when it comes to
delivering growth, fostering innovative technology, tackling the
climate crisis and delivering our migration priorities, and
providing greater security for our people.”
The Foreign Secretary will also meet with leading figures in
Indian business to discuss how we can unlock even greater
investment by Indian business in the UK. Our investment
relationship supports over 600,000 jobs across both countries,
with over 950 Indian-owned companies in the UK and over 650 UK
companies in India. In 2023-24, India was the UK's second largest
source of investments in terms of number of projects for the
fifth consecutive year.
Talks will also take stock of progress, following a
commitment by the UK and Indian Prime Ministers to take forward
an ambitious UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The
trade deal is a key example of the progress being made since the
last meeting between the Foreign Secretary and his Indian
counterpart. It follows the signing of the UK-India Programme of
Cultural Cooperation Agreement in May and £400m of trade and
investment wins boosting the British and the Indian economy at
the Economic and Financial Dialogue in April.
The Foreign Secretary is also expected to address the
recent escalation in tensions following the Pahalgam terrorist
attack and how the welcomed sustained period of peace can be best
supported in the interests of stability in the region.
The visit comes as some of India's top business leaders endorsed
the trade deal which will increase opportunities for trade and
investment between the UK and India. It also comes ahead of the
launch of the UK's modern Industrial Strategy, which will make it
quicker, easier and cheaper to do business in the UK.
Notes to Editors:
- On 2 May, the UK and India signed a new UK-India Programme of
Cultural Cooperation to boost collaboration across the arts and
culture, creative industries, tourism and sport sectors. The
agreement will open the door for increased UK creative exports to
India and enable more partnerships between UK and Indian museums
and cultural institutions, helping to grow UK soft power.
- At the 13th UK-India Economic and Financial
Dialogue (EFD) in April, Chancellor welcomed £400m of trade and
investment wins set to boost the British and the Indian economy
and deliver economic growth and security for working people.
-
travelled to India on his
first official visit as Foreign Secretary in July last year,
when he announced the landmark UK-India Technology Security
Initiative. The initiative is delivering crucial collaboration
on telecoms security and unlocking investment across emerging
technologies - telecoms, critical minerals, AI, quantum,
health/bio tech, advanced materials and semiconductors.
