Indian students may benefit from new ‘migration’ plan
INDIA and the UK are close to signing a “migration and mobility partnership”, which could see thousands more Indian students enrol at UK universities in exchange for illegal Indian migrants being sent back, according to a UK media report on Monday (3).
The partnership forms part of agreements that are likely to be discussed during the visit of India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar, who was invited by UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab as a guest at the G7 foreign and development ministers meeting this week.
A meeting between Raab and Jaishankar is scheduled for Thursday (6) at Chevening in Kent.
“London and New Delhi are on the cusp of signing a ‘migration and mobility partnership’, which is part of a wider move towards bolstering relations that aims at securing a mini trade deal later this year,” the Daily Telegraph said.
“Government insiders say the talks are still live and final details are yet to be ironed out, but the deal represents an important step on two key sticking points that have hampered bilateral relations in recent years,” it added.
“There are hopes that the agreement could be clinched as early as this week, when Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s foreign minister, is in London for multilateral talks with the G7, hosted by Dominic Raab.”
The issue of illegal Indian migrants in the UK has been on the agenda of bilateral negotiations for some years now, with both sides failing to agree on the numbers in question.
While the UK maintains that around 100,000 Indians are illegally living in the country, India has questioned the veracity of those numbers in the past because that figure is believed to also cover nationals from other parts of the subcontinent.
Both two sides were close to signing an agreement on the issue in 2018 before it fell through.
Under prime minister Boris Johnson, a post-Brexit Indo-Pacific tilt of the UK has been linked with potential agreements across previously sticky areas – including easing the route for student visas for Indians wanting to study at UK universities and easier access to legal services in India for British companies.
Prime minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to hold a virtual summit with his British counterpart on Tuesday as Eastern Eye went to press, when both leaders are to sign off on Roadmap 2030, a blueprint expected to pave the way for a free trade agreement (FTA) in the future.
“A comprehensive Roadmap 2030 will be launched during the summit, which will pave the way for further expanding and deepening India-UK cooperation over the next decade across five key areas; namely people-to-people relationship; trade and prosperity; defence and security; climate action; and healthcare,” the Indian High Commission in London said.
“India and UK have enjoyed a strategic partnership since 2004. It has been marked by regular high-level exchanges and growing convergences in diverse areas,” the statement added.
“The summit will be an important opportunity to elevate our multi-faceted strategic ties and enhance cooperation on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
“Both leaders will also discuss Covid-19 cooperation and the global efforts to fight the pandemic.”