World News | India-UK partnership will define partnerships of our time: PM Rishi Sunak

LONDON, June 21 (PTI) — British Prime Minister Sunak said on Wednesday that he believes the India-UK partnership will be “the defining partnership of our time” and offered support for the upcoming UK-India Week.

Sunak, then chancellor of the exchequer, was a special guest at the UK-India Awards during the summit last year, when he spoke for the first time about his Indian heritage and commitment to the values ​​of British India.

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In a statement from Downing Street, the 43-year-old leader described the annual event as a catalyst for new trade relationships and long-term collaborations.

“The India Global Forum’s annual UK-India Week is a much-anticipated fixture on the bilateral agenda of our two great nations,” Sunak said.

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“It is a catalyst for new trade relationships, lasting cooperation, and a better future for our people. I believe this partnership will be the defining partnership of our time,” he said.

UK-India Week 2023 kicked off with a Young Leaders Forum at the Nehru Center in London on Saturday and will cover the full range of issues from technology and innovation to infrastructure and sustainable development at events in London and Windsor bilateral issue.

This year marks the fifth edition of the summit and the UK-India Awards, and comes just days after the UK government issued a joint outcome statement at the conclusion of the tenth round of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with India.

“In 50 separate meetings, technical discussions were held across 10 policy areas. This included discussions of detailed draft treaty texts for these policy areas,” the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) said in a statement earlier this week. wrote.

India and the UK have been negotiating a free trade agreement since January last year, with the aim of reaching a comprehensive agreement that is expected to significantly strengthen the bilateral trade relationship, worth an estimated £34bn by 2022. The 11th round of negotiations is now scheduled for next month, shortly after next week’s UK-India week.

“Given the geopolitical turmoil and economic turmoil around the world, I think it is now more important than ever that the UK and India have a closer and deeper relationship. I therefore thank Prime Minister Sunak for recognizing the role of the IGF in bringing both of us together.” Great democracies are one step closer to unlocking the true potential of partnership,” said IGF Founder Professor Manoj Ladwa.

The six-day series will kick off with speeches from Opposition Labor Party leader Keir Starmer, and will also be addressed by UK Education Secretary Gillian Keegan and India’s Minister for Electricity, New and Renewable Energy RK Singh.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)