British Prime Minister’s visit to India: Strengthening links between the two countries

Strengthening bilateral relations

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that India, as a major economic power, is a highly valued strategic partner of Britain. The two sides are expected to hold talks on “the UK and India’s strategic economic, diplomatic and defense partnership, which aims to strengthen our close partnership and advance security cooperation in the region.” Indo-Pacific”.

The prime minister will also push for progress in negotiations for a free trade deal Britain is hoping to strike as part of its post-Brexit strategy. Such a trade deal between Britain and India is expected to boost total UK trade by £28 billion ($36.5 billion) annually by 2035, the Prime Minister’s office said.

Investment from Indian companies has now supported 95,000 jobs across the UK. India was identified as a UK priority relationship in the 2021 Integrated Assessment and was invited by the UK as a guest to last year’s G7 in the Gulf of Carbis.

The UK is taking advantage of post-Brexit trade opportunities with growing India’s economy to reduce prices of key commodities for consumers, opening opportunities for UK businesses across sectors. such as green technology and services, and create jobs with high wages and skills.

Trade between India and the UK is worth around £23 billion ($30.04 billion) a year. In May 2021, the two countries agreed on the Anglo-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which the UK government says will bring in more than £533 million ($692.1 thousand) of investment from India into the UK and will create more than 6,500 jobs. Mr Johnson is also expected to use next week’s trip to continue negotiating the Free Trade Agreement, which began in January of this year.

Johnson’s trip comes as the UK government aims to refocus its efforts in the Indo-Pacific region as part of its Global Britain strategy. The Integrated Assessment, a defense and security document published last March by Britain, argues that the Indo-Pacific is of “growing geopolitical and economic importance” in the region. the coming years. In particular, the assessment highlights India’s strategic value and outlines Britain’s intention to strengthen its partnership with India in areas such as defence, trade and dealing with climate change.

Ukraine problem

According to Reuters, the divergent positions of Britain and India on Ukraine may overshadow next week’s visit. British Prime Minister Johnson and Indian Prime Minister Modi had a phone conversation last month, which mentioned Ukraine. “Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I talked about the dire situation in Ukraine and agreed that the country’s sovereignty must be respected,” Johnson said of the phone call at the time.

Throughout the Ukraine conflict, India maintained a neutral strategic position. India has abstained on key UN votes on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Prime Minister Modi met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier this year.

Western allies have also called on India, which imports weapons from Russia, to have a stronger voice. Last week, US President Joe Biden stated in an exchange with Prime Minister Modi that buying more oil from Russia is not in India’s interest.