Prime Minister’s meeting with PM of the UK and review about bilateral strategic ties

HIROSHIMA : Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met H.E. Mr. Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 21 May 2023 in Hiroshima on the sidelines of the HIROSHIMA G-7 Summit.

The two leaders reviewed their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, held productive talks including taking stock of progress in India-UK FTA negotiations. 

Leaders agreed to deepen cooperation across a wide range of areas, such as trade & investment, science & technology, higher education, and people to people relationship.

Discussions also took place on India’s ongoing G-20 Presidency. Prime Minister looked forward to welcoming Prime Minister Sunak in New Delhi for the G-20 Summit.Leaders agreed to deepen cooperation across a wide range of areas, such as trade & investment, science & technology, higher education, and people-to-people relationship, it said.

India and the UK have been negotiating an FTA since January last year, with a goal towards a comprehensive pact that is expected to significantly enhance the bilateral trading relationship worth an estimated 34 billion pounds in 2022.

The two nations last month concluded the ninth round of India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with detailed discussions across a range of policy areas.

Recently, Britain’s Chief Negotiator for the FTA –Harjinder Kang – was appointed the country’s new Trade Commissioner to South Asia and Deputy High Commissioner for Western India, based in Mumbai.
According to official UK government statistics, India was the UK’s 12th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022, accounting for 2.1 per cent of total UK trade.

The two leaders shared a tight hug before their talks. Modi arrived in Hiroshima on Friday to attend three sessions at the G7 summit following an invitation by Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.