Our Bureau
London
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi is going to start his official visit to the United Kingdom this Wednesday on 23rd July. PM Modi is traveling to the UK to have discussions regarding the finalisation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. There are reports suggesting that both leaders will have serious discussions around topics of regional and global significance.
As per the report, the Free Trade Agreement will be signed on Thursday, 24th July, one day after the Prime Minister reaches UK. India’s Foreign Secretary, Vikram Misri held a press conference in which he talked in length about the Prime Minister’s visit to the UK. Mr. Misri stated that there is just some last-minute work left regarding the FTA that is being taken care of.
“We are working on the legal scrubbing and other last-minute work for the FTA…The UK is the sixth-largest investor in India, with cumulative investment of $36 billion. Interestingly, India is also a major investor in the UK, with nearly $20 billion in cumulative FDI,” said Mr Misri.
The Foreign Secretary also highlighted that the PM will have discussions regarding topics of regional significance. He stated that they have brought the concern of Khalistani extremists in front of their British counterparts. He even cited the example of Tahawwur Rana and said that the two countries have been in touch with each other about making it work.
Mr Misri said, “The presence of Khalistani extremists…we have brought to the attention of our partners in the UK. This should be a matter of concern for our partners as well. There are a few questions related to fugitives from Indian law and justice in the UK.”
“These have been a matter of discussion between both sides, and we continue to make the case for these fugitives to be rendered to India. Obviously, there is a legal process that such requests and such issues go through in the other country, and we continue to follow up very closely with our partners in the UK on these matters,” he added.
PM Modi in a social media post that he made in June, welcomed the finalisation of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement along with Double Contribution Convention. Now he will be travelling to the UK to sign the FTA alongside PM Starmer marking a new chapter in Indian-UK relations.
