Defence, trade on Modi-May agenda
On eve of Delhi talks, May says India UK’s closest friend
Describing India as one of the UK’s “most important and closest” friends and a leading power in the world, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday that she will hold talks with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to bolster bilateral strategic ties in areas such as defence, security and trade.
Ahead of her visit to India, which will be Ms May’s first bilateral visit outside the UK, an article published in the Sunday Telegraph quoted her as saying that she plans to “promote the best of Britain” during her threeday trade mission to New Delhi and Bengaluru.
“One of our most important and closest friends has to be India — a leading power in the world, with whom we share so much history, culture and so many values, and which is led by a Prime Minister who is undertaking a farreaching programme of reform,” she wrote.
“In other words, we are two countries with strong ties, a mature relationship and an opportunity to make that even deeper. That is why, today I will be travelling to India for my first bilateral visit outside Europe and first trade mission as Prime Minister, accompanied by a range of top British businesses, including some of our brightest small and medium enterprises. We will be promoting the best of Britain, sending out the message that we are open for business, and making the most of the opportunities offered by Brexit as the world’s foremost champion of free trade,” Ms May added.
Ms May, who will hold bilateral talks with Mr Modi on Monday, said she will seek concrete steps to move the partnership forward during the meeting.
“I will be using this visit
to reaffirm the importance of the strategic partnership we already have, which delivers huge benefits for both our countries, and to work with Prime Minister Modi to agree to concrete steps to realise our shared vision of going even further in our cooperation across trade, investment, defence and security,” she said.
“Building 100 new ‘Smart Cities’, encouraging firms to ‘Make in India’, getting the country online with ‘Digital India’, delivering better healthcare, infrastructure, skills and finance — these form Prime Minister Modi’s vision, and with our world-class architects, lawyers, financiers, engineers, medics, academics and tech experts, Britain is the ideal partner to help achieve that, creating jobs and growth in both our countries,” she added.
Dismissing any talk of a free trade agreement (FTA), she said while an FTA cannot be signed until the official Brexit process, engagement with countries outside the EU can be stepped up.