British PM likely to visit India next month for bilateral talks

UK undercoat government minister Keir Starmer is expected to see bharat next month to supercharge relations in areas ranging from trade and technology to defence and security against the backdrop of widespread churn on the global stage due to the policies of the US administration, people familiar with the matter said.Starmer’s visit is a follow-up to PM Narendra Modi’s trip to Britain in July, when the two sides signed a free trade agreement (FTA) that is currently going through the process of ratification ahead of coming into effect by next year. The two leaders are expected to hold bilateral talks in Mumbai, where they will also participate in the Global Fintech Fest 2025, the people said on condition of anonymity.Starmer is expected to be in India during October 8-10, and will also travel to Bengaluru for meetings aimed at bolstering cooperation in technology and investments, the people said.Modi and Starmer will meet amid unprecedented geopolitical and geo-economic turbulence caused by the trade and tariff policies of the Trump administration in the US. The UK agreed on the general terms of a non-binding trade deal with the US in May that seeks to lessen the impact of American tariffs, while India and the US recently resumed talks on a bilateral trade agreement.Starmer’s visit will be an opportunity for the two sides to take stock of efforts to ratify the India-UK FTA, which is expected to boost two-way commerce by $35 billion in the long run, cut tariffs on goods ranging from textiles to whisky and enhance market access. The two sides also finalised the Double Contribution Convention (DCC) to boost the services sector by exempting employers of Indian workers from paying social security contributions in the UK for three years.The visit will also be an opportunity to review the implementation of the Vision 2035 strategy to drive collaboration in defence, technology, climate and migration, and the Defence Industrial Roadmap for closer cooperation on military hardware. Both these initiatives were unveiled during Modi’s visit.India’s campaign against terrorism, the activities of pro-Khalistan elements in the UK and the return of economic offenders and fugitives wanted by New Delhi are also expected to figure in discussions during the upcoming visit, the people said.During the visit to the UK in July, Modi had emphasised that there can be no double standards in the fight against terrorism, and in an apparent reference to pro-Khalistan elements, said that “forces with extremist ideology cannot be allowed to misuse democratic freedoms”. He also called for such forces engaged in undermining democracy to be held to account.Indian authorities recently allowed a delegation from Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to visit Delhi’s Tihar Jail to assess conditions as part of efforts to strengthen the case for the extradition of high-profile economic offenders such as Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. Several white collar fugitives such as arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari and diamantaire Nirav Modi, who are in the UK, have argued in courts there they would be at risk of extortion, torture or violence if they are extradited to India.