 "Keir Starmer in India: Trade, immigration & much more… What’s on the agenda?")
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has landed in India’s financial capital, Mumbai, for his first official visit. He will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mumbai to discuss “issues of regional and global importance”, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Starmer’s first trip to India since coming to power in the United Kingdom in July last year is expected to boost bilateral ties between New Delhi and London. The visit comes months after India and the UK signed a free trade agreement (FTA), officially known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
Let’s take a closer look.
UK PM in India
The UK PM’s visit to India will include discussions on India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in line with ‘Vision 2035’, a “focused and time-bound 10-year Roadmap of programmes and initiatives in key pillars of trade and investment, technology and innovation, defence and security, climate and energy, health, education and people-to-people relations,” the MEA said in a statement on October 4.
During his visit, Starmer will attend the sixth edition of the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, along with PM Modi, on October 9 and both will deliver keynote addresses at the event.
The two leaders will also engage with businesses and industry leaders.
The UK PM will lead a delegation of more than 100 British business, academic and cultural leaders to India with the aim of deepening commerce ties between the two countries.
Modi and Starmer will hold talks on issues of regional and global importance, with Israel’s war in Gaza likely to come up. They could discuss American President Donald Trump’s proposed plan to end the war.
The Ukraine conflict is also likely to feature in the talks between Modi and Starmer.
India-UK trade: Big focus of Starmer’s visit
Trade will be a big focus during UK PM Keir Starmer’s two-day visit to India. The two countries had signed the free trade agreement in July during Modi’s London trip.
PM Modi had called it a historic day, as “after years of hard work, both nations have completed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement”.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe British premier said at the time that the deal, which was finalised after three years of intense negotiations, would bring “huge benefits to both of our countries”.
According to the British government’s estimates, the FTA will boost its GDP by £4.8 billion ($6.5 billion) annually. Indian exports to the UK are expected to double by 2030.
“It is understood that the UK PM is visiting India on a trade mission, so that is expected to be the focus. There is a lot of excitement around the opportunities unlocked by the India-UK FTA, which is set to double bilateral trade to about $115 billion by 2030 and boost GDPs. Both governments are trying to encourage the industry in the two countries to look at the unlocked potential from the deal and the future opportunities,” a source told businessline.
The India-UK FTA comes as President Trump is pursuing a more protectionist trade agenda in the US, sparking a global trade war.
The trade agreement between India and the UK will be implemented after the British Parliament ratifies it. Under the deal, the UK would eliminate duties on 99 per cent of Indian exports, including key sectors such as textiles, leather, gems and jewellery, auto parts and engines, furniture, sports goods, chemicals, and machinery.
Scotch whisky and luxury cars from the UK will become cheaper. India has agreed to reduce tariffs on Scotch whisky and gin from 150 per cent to 75 per cent, and further to 40 per cent over the next 10 years.
Taxes on imported UK-made cars, currently over 100 per cent, will drop to 10 per cent under a quota system that will gradually expand.
Other issues
Besides trade, topics such as technology cooperation, including Artificial Intelligence, digital infrastructure, fintech, and cybersecurity, will also come up during Starmer’s visit.
“The prime minister’s visit to India will make significant advances across our shared interests in connectivity, AI and emerging technologies,” UK Minister for AI and Online Safety Kanishka Narayan told PTI.
“India and the UK share a focus on research and, as importantly, on democratic adoption of these technologies. This visit is about deepening that shared focus with practical collaboration,” he said.
The sticky issues in the relationship between India and the UK are also expected to be discussed. India could push the UK for faster cooperation on the extradition of fugitives like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, as per Hindustan Times (HT).
The focus is also likely to be on migration. While the India-UK FTA includes a Double Contributions Convention to ease the movement of Indian professionals, the British government has tightened rules for overall immigration.
India is also expected to flag the issue of pro-Khalistan elements in the UK, people familiar with the matter told the newspaper.
With inputs from agencies
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