Finance
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, will pay a two-day visit to India beginning October 8 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday.
Prime Minister Starmer will be making his first official visit to India.
According to the MEA, during the visit on October 9 in Mumbai, the two Prime Ministers will assess progress in various aspects of the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in accordance with ‘Vision 2035′, a focused and time-bound 10-year Roadmap of programmes and initiatives in key pillars such as trade and investment, technology and innovation, defence and security, climate and energy, health, education, and people-to-people relations.
“Both leaders will engage with businesses and industry leaders on opportunities presented by the India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) as a central pillar of the future India–UK economic partnership. They will also exchange views on issues of regional and global importance,” read a statement issued by the MEA.
Prime Minister Modi and Starmer will also attend the 6th edition of the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai and deliver keynote addresses. The leaders will engage with industry experts, policymakers and innovators at the sidelines of the event.
“The visit will build on the momentum and substance generated by the visit of Prime Minister Modi to the UK on 23–24 July 2025. It will provide a valuable opportunity to reaffirm the shared vision of India and the United Kingdom to build a forward-looking partnership,” the MEA stated.
PM Modi and Starmer met at Chequers, the UK Prime Minister’s country residence in Buckinghamshire, where they held one-on-one and delegation-level talks.
They had applauded the signing of the historic India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which elevated the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to new heights while considerably increasing bilateral trade, investment, economic collaboration, and job creation in both countries.
The two sides also agreed to establish a Double Contribution Convention, which went into effect concurrently with the CETA and benefited professionals and the service industry in both countries by increasing competitiveness and lowering the cost of doing business for commercial organizations.
Noting the growing collaboration in capital markets and financial services, Prime Minister Modi said in July that the two sides could work together to promote more interaction between GIFT City in Gujarat, India’s first international financial services centre, and the UK’s vibrant financial ecosystem.
The two presidents also hailed the completion of a Defence Industrial Roadmap to encourage collaboration in co-design, co-development, and co-production of defense products to satisfy rising demand in both nations and on the global market. They welcomed the regular interaction of the two nations’ military forces and expressed satisfaction with the developing defence and security collaboration.
Source: IANS
