Boris Johns says the UK is looking forward to better trade and defence partnership with India
text_fields
British Prime Minister Boris Johns announced that his government is looking forward to enhancing the defence partnership in India. He added that the UK wants to increase its footprint in defence production in India. He was speaking in Delhi at the start of his two-day visit to India.
The UK is working on an India-specific export license to reduce bureaucracy and delivery times for defence. The need to end the war in Ukraine through dialogue and diplomacy was also discussed. PM Modi said that they reiterated the importance of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the UK PM's visit in India's 75th year of independence is "historic".
Johnson arrived in Gujarat on Thursday.
The leaders discussed the Free Trade Agreement and the new cooperation on clean, renewable energy. The need for a "free and open" Indo-Pacific was also a major point in the discussion, reported NDTV. Boris Johnson said that Britain and India have agreed on a new and expanded, decades-long defence and security partnership with a shared interest in keeping the Indo-Pacific free.
Johnson added that the partnership is "a beacon in stormy seas as the world faces growing threats from autocratic states which seek to undermine democracy, choke off fair trade, and trample on sovereignty." The defence collaboration is aimed to be across land, sea, air, space, and cyber as the threats faced by the two countries are complex.
Boris Johnson said that they aim to have a new Free Trade Agreement by Diwali. "The UK government appreciates the tariffs being dropped by India on certain goods." The UK government is also dropping some tariffs in return.
The climate commitments made at the Glasgow Summit were also discussed at the meeting. PM Modi asked the UK to join India's National Hydrogen Mission in which the government is launching a virtual Hydrogen Science and Innovation hub to accelerate affordable green hydrogen.