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UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper to meet Jaishankar to review ties
Yvette Cooper, who completed a trip to China on Wednesday, travelled to India close on the heels of a visit by UK business and trade secretary Peter Kyle
UK foreign minister Yvette Cooper will meet external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Thursday to review bilateral relations and to discuss measures to minimise economic shocks from ongoing conflicts.
Cooper, who completed a trip to China on Wednesday, travelled to India close on the heels of a visit by UK business and trade secretary Peter Kyle that was aimed at giving a push to the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) signed last year.
Cooper, who is making her first official visit to India, will review delivery under the Vision 2035, which was unveiled by the PMs of the two countries last year, and emphasise shared interests with India on freedom of navigation during her meeting with Jaishankar, the British high commission said on Wednesday.
The two foreign ministers will discuss “closer collaboration between the UK and India to minimise economic shocks from ongoing conflicts, preserve global stability, and ensure freedom of navigation”, the high commission said.
Cooper’s visit builds on the visit by Kyle this week to bring the UK-India free trade agreement “into force as soon as possible”, the mission said.
Among the issues that are expected to figure in the meeting between Cooper and Jaishankar are economic growth, technology, innovation, defence and security, climate and education.
British high commissioner Lindy Cameron said: “The UK-India partnership is a bulwark against rising global uncertainty. Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper’s visit this week, her first visit in the role, is another important opportunity to build on that partnership.”
Noting that the UK has been driving collaboration with India as a priority, Cameron said that the two sides are working together in a range of areas, from the Technology Security Initiative that is shaping the technologies of tomorrow to the trade deal that will “help make trade cheaper, quicker and easier”.
Cooper will welcome new Indian investments into the Technology Security Initiative, interact with AI health tech entrepreneurs and join a special programme at the British Council to hear how UK-India partnerships on education and growth are delivering results.
India and the UK signed the FTA in July 2025, setting the stage for increasing bilateral trade by £25.5 billion annually. The two sides have also deepened defence and security cooperation through a new 10-year Defence Industrial Partnership and enhanced coordination on counter-terrorism and emerging threats.
However, concerns have grown about implementing the FTA because of the UK’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), which can limit tariff-free steel imports.
