The UK and India have agreed to increase defence and business collaboration, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying that a bilateral free-trade agreement might be completed by October this year.
Johnson met with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on his first visit to the Indian capital since taking office in 2019, to discuss ways to strengthen security ties between London and New Delhi, which buys more than half of its military hardware from Russia.
“We had excellent talks that have deepened our connection in every aspect,” Johnson said at the end of his two-day trip at a joint news conference with Modi on Friday.
“We have agreed to a new and extended defence and security relationship, a decades-long commitment that will not only strengthen our ties, but also help your ambition of ‘Make in India,'” he added, alluding to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s domestic manufacturing push.
Johnson’s visit, which coincided with India’s 75th anniversary of independence, was welcomed by Modi as “historic.”
“We addressed a number of regional and international topics, emphasising the importance of a free, open, inclusive, and rule-based Indo-Pacific order,” he said.
While exact details of the security partnership between the two countries were not immediately available, Johnson stated that the two countries had agreed to collaborate on defence procurement “to meet threats across land, sea, and air, space and cyber, including partnering on new fighter jet technology, maritime technologies to detect and respond to threats in the oceans.”
The UK’s efforts to strengthen security ties follow the US’s attempt last month to entice India away from Russia with its own offer of increased defence and energy sales, after President Joe Biden described New Delhi’s response to Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine as “somewhat shaky.”
India voted no in a UN vote condemning the invasion last month and has not imposed sanctions on Russia, a stance that has sparked a flurry of diplomatic activity, including a visit by Russia’s foreign minister.
Modi said he spoke with Johnson on the situation in Ukraine, with both sides urging for an early ceasefire and emphasising the necessity of diplomacy in ending the violence.
According to data, the UK’s trade with India was worth 23 billion pounds ($30 billion) in 2019, and with a population of nearly 1.4 billion people, the south Asian giant offers a large pool of potential customers.
