Finance
Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his British counterpart James Cleverly discussed bilateral relations and the fallout from the Ukraine conflict on Tuesday, shortly after Rishi Sunak took over as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
There was no official readout from either side, but Jaishankar tweeted that he received a call from Cleverly and that they discussed counter-terrorism, bilateral relations, and the Ukraine conflict.
Cleverly said in a tweet that the two ministers “discussed the Russia-Ukraine crisis and that the UK will be challenging Russia’s rhetoric and allegations” at a United Nations Security Council meeting next week (UNSC).
The remarks appeared to be a reference to the UN Security Council, which is expected to investigate Russia’s claims about Ukraine’s plans to use a “dirty bomb.” United States, United Kingdom, and other Western officials have already dismissed the claims as a “Russian false-flag operation.”
Cleverly was one of the British leaders who backed stronger ties with India after former home secretary Suella Braverman’s comments about a planned bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) triggering more immigration from India did not sit well with New Delhi.
“We do want to have an even stronger, and it’s strong already, but an even stronger trading relationship with India,” Cleverly said earlier this month.
Meanwhile, UK High Commissioner Alex Ellis stated on Tuesday that Sunak has stated that the economy will be his top priority during his tenure as Prime Minister. “India is a big investor in the UK, and the UK is a big investor in India.” We want to double trade by 2030,” he told ANI news agency.
“A free trade agreement is an excellent way of doing that. It’s a long way to get to the FTA, we’ve walked through the foothills, gone up the valley, got to base camp and now we need to do this short and sharp ascent. I think both countries are determined to reach the summit,” Ellis said.
The British envoy admitted that “it takes two to tango” and stated that “negotiations [had] been going hard for less than a year.” It is a short time for free trade agreements, but there is a prize inside: increased employment and growth in both countries. That is, I believe, what both prime ministers would like to achieve.”
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had set a deadline of October 24 to finalize the trade agreement. According to people familiar with the matter, the FTA is likely to be completed next year due to differences in key areas such as professional and student mobility, as well as automobiles.
Ellis also described the election of Britain’s first Hindu prime minister as a “historic moment”.
“It’s a big day for UK. We have a new PM. He’s young. His grandparents came from India, his parents from East Africa. He’s a Hindu. It’s a sign of a different UK compared to the country in which I grew up,” he said.
“UK-India relations have been deepening and growing very fast since we left the European Union. We’ll see what happens while we expect this government to pursue the same course,” he added.
Source:HT
