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FTA sealed, UK’s top diplomat in India on Saturday to prep for PM Starmer visit
David Lammy’s trip will prepare the ground for a planned visit by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is expected to be in India in the near future for signing of the FTA
NEW DELHI:UK foreign secretary David Lammy will visit India on Saturday to review bilateral relations, especially trade and strategic ties, with his counterpart S Jaishankar a month after the two countries finalised a free trade agreement (FTA).
Lammy’s trip will prepare the ground for a planned visit by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is expected to be in India in the near future for the formal signing of the FTA, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
Shortly after his arrival in New Delhi on Saturday morning for the visit, Lammy will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He will then hold talks with Jaishankar to review the bilateral relationship. Lammy will also meet commerce minister Piyush Goyal late on Saturday before departing early on Sunday morning.
On May 6, India and the UK clinched the FTA that is expected to boost Indian exports of textiles, leather and engineering goods and cut levies on British whisky, automobiles and medical devices. The deal between the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies was finalised three years after Modi and his former British counterpart Boris Johnson set a target of concluding the FTA by October 2022.
India and the UK are currently engaged in the legal scrubbing of the text of the FTA, a process that is expected to take about three months, the people said. Once this process is completed, it will pave the way for a visit by Starmer for the formal signing of the trade deal, the people said.
Hours after India and the UK announced the finalisation of the trade deal, India launched targeted military strikes on terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan on May 7 in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22.
Lammy was among the world leaders who were engaged in efforts to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan before they halted military operations through an understanding on May 10. He was in frequent contact with the Indian government and spoke to Jaishankar on May 15.
Lammy made a two-day visit to Islamabad from May 16 and welcomed the truce between India and Pakistan. He also asserted the importance of continued stability for the region.
The hostilities had concerned the UK government as Britain has sizeable Indian and Pakistani diasporas. “Ever since the horrendous terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the UK has done all it can to play a supportive role to reduce tensions, get to a ceasefire and condemn terrorism,” Lammy said while in Islamabad.
He described India and Pakistan as “great friends to the UK” and said the UK is “determined to play our part to counter terrorism and ensure this fragile ceasefire becomes a durable peace”.
Ahead of Lammy’s visit to New Delhi, India and the UK held their annual foreign office consultations and the first Strategic Exports and Technology Cooperation Dialogue on June 3. These discussions focused on strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, defence, counter-terrorism, green energy and health and measures to address export controls for enabling greater technology cooperation in strategic sectors.
