UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday during his two-day visit to India.
“A pleasure to meet UK FS David Lammy. Appreciate the priority accorded by PM Keir Starmer to broaden and deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Remain committed to elevating the ties. Welcome the bilateral Technology Security Initiative and the desire to conclude a mutually beneficial FTA,” PM Modi said on X.
Lammy-Jaishankar meet
Before meeting the Indian prime minister, Lammy also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi.
During his bilateral with Jaishankar, Lammy said, “It is wonderful to be back in India, in your company. Let me say that I am here very much with the blessings and good wishes of my leader and PM Keir Starmer.”
He added, “I also salute the leadership that India has taken on the Climate Emergency and the race to Clean Energy, it’s extraordinary what has been achieved in such a short space of time.”
Meanwhile, Jaishankar said, “I do believe that our relationship is a very important relationship and enormous possibilities are there. How we explore those possibilities, how we realise our potential in a more meaningful way, is one of the tasks that I look forward to undertaking with you.”
What did FS Lammy do on day 1?
Dammy’s visit to India comes after his party under the leadership of the UK’s new prime minister Keir Starmer won the elections earlier this month.
Day one of his trip was eventful as the foreign secretary was hosted by IT services company HCL Technologies (HCLTech) in their Noida campus.
Lammy met with HCLTech Chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra and visited one of the innovation labs on the campus.
Following this, he met PM Modi and Jaishankar in the national capital.
‘India-UK FTA negotiations floor not ceiling of our ambitions’
Lammy described the negotiations of the Free Trade Agreement as the floor and not the ceiling of the ambitions to unlock shared potential and deliver growth.
“India is the emerging superpower of the 21st century, the largest country in the world with 1.4 billion people and one of the fastest growing economies in the world,” Lammy said.
“Our Free Trade Agreement negotiations is the floor not the ceiling of our ambitions to unlock our shared potential and deliver growth, from Bengaluru to Birmingham,” he said.
A British government readout said, Lammy will push for a “reset” of the UK-India partnership, including through reinforcing London’s commitment to securing a free trade agreement that will benefit both economies.
It said the foreign secretary will also galvanise support for accelerated action on the climate crisis with India as an “indispensable partner”, driving forward the clean energy transition and creating opportunities for British and Indian businesses.
With inputs from PTI
Link to article –
