Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Keir Starmer chart a new era of India–UK cooperation across key sectors as they meet.
Mumbai/New Delhi: The India-UK partnership is an important pillar of global stability and economic progress in an era of international instability, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after talks with his British counterpart Keir Starmer, aimed at driving cooperation in areas ranging from trade and investment to defense and technology.
Starmer arrived in Mumbai with a 126-strong trade delegation for a two-day visit aimed at drumming up business and investments, three months after India and the UK concluded a free trade agreement following years of start-stop negotiations.
Besides reiterating their commitment to global stability and a rules-based world order, Modi and Starmer hailed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), saying it will slash tariffs, increase access to each other’s markets, boost trade, create jobs, and benefit industries and consumers in both countries.
The leaders unveiled initiatives under the Technology Security Initiative (TSI) to drive cooperation in telecom, critical minerals, AI and health tech, as well as steps to advance defense and security collaboration, including an agreement on government-to-government supply of lightweight multirole missile (LMM) systems to bolster India’s air defense capabilities, and an arrangement for Indian Air Force (IAF) instructors to be integrated with the Royal Air Force (RAF).
Starmer said, “We’re creating a new modern partnership focused on the future and on winning the opportunities that it offers, and we’re doing it together because India’s growth story is remarkable.” The UK will partner with India on the government’s vision of “Viksit Bharat” or a developed India by 2047, Starmer said, adding that the two countries will deepen cooperation through the TSI with new commitments in AI, advanced communications, and defence technologies.
The two PMs strongly condemned all forms of terrorism and called for zero tolerance of terrorism and concerted global efforts to combat the problem comprehensively.
