New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Britain and the Maldives this week for meetings with the leadership of both countries to take forward bilateral relations and to formalise the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA).
Modi will travel to the UK during July 23-24 and then go to the Maldives from July 25 to 26. He will be the guest of honour at the Indian Ocean archipelago’s Independence Day, marking a turnaround in bilateral ties that had turned frosty because of the policies of Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu.
The India-UK trade deal, which was finalised in May, is expected to be formally signed during Modi’s visit, people familiar with the matter said. The FTA is set to boost Indian exports of textiles, leather and engineering goods and cut levies on British whisky, automobiles and medical devices. The two sides have been engaged in the legal scrubbing of the deal since May.
The FTA is expected to double bilateral trade by 2030 from the current level of $60 billion. Another attractive feature of the deal is an exemption for employers of Indian workers from paying social security contributions in the UK for three years under the Double Contribution Convention.
Under the deal, India will get tariff elimination on 99% of its tariff lines, covering nearly 100% of trade value. The UK will get reduced tariffs on 90% of British tariff lines. Labour-intensive sectors such as Indian textiles and apparel will get a competitive advantage against countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam. India will get similar advantages in leather, footwear, gems and jewellery, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and processed foods.
{{/usCountry}}Under the deal, India will get tariff elimination on 99% of its tariff lines, covering nearly 100% of trade value. The UK will get reduced tariffs on 90% of British tariff lines. Labour-intensive sectors such as Indian textiles and apparel will get a competitive advantage against countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam. India will get similar advantages in leather, footwear, gems and jewellery, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and processed foods.
{{/usCountry}}The external affairs ministry said on Sunday that Modi is making his fourth visit to the UK at the invitation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Modi will hold wide-ranging discussions with Starmer on bilateral relations and they will also exchange views on regional and global issues.
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Modi is also expected to call on King Charles III, and the two sides will review progress in the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, with focus on trade and economy, technology, innovation, defence, security, climate, health, education and people-to-people ties, the ministry said.
In the second leg of his two-nation tour, Modi will visit the Maldives at the invitation of President Muizzu. This will be his third visit to the Maldives, and the first visit by an Indian head of state or government since Muizzu assumed office in November 2023.
Modi will be the guest of honour at celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the independence of Maldives on July 26. He will meet Muizzu for discussions on issues of mutual interest. “The two leaders will also take stock of the progress in the implementation of the India-Maldives Joint Vision for a ‘Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership’, adopted during the State Visit of the President of Maldives to India in October 2024,” the external affairs ministry said.
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“The visit reflects the importance India attaches to its maritime neighbour, Maldives, which continues to hold a special place in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and Vision MAHASAGAR. The visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to further deepen and strengthen the close bilateral relationship,” it said.
India-Maldives ties cratered after Muizzu came to power in the presidential election in 2023 on the back of an “India Out” campaign. Besides demanding the withdrawal of more than 80 Indian military personnel deployed in the archipelago to operate two helicopters and an aircraft, Muizzu adopted policies that sought to move the Maldives to China.
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However, bilateral relations improved last year after India backed efforts by the Maldives to overcome a balance of payments crisis by putting off the repayment of loans and providing other much-needed financial assistance at a time when such help from China was not forthcoming. India also replaced the military personnel deployed in the Maldives with civilian experts.