Team Blitz India
LONDON: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has hailed the United Kingdom’s partnership with India, calling it a defining one for our times.
The UK and India are making great progress together on the 2030 Roadmap and the countries want to strike a truly ambitious trade deal that benefits both nations, he said earlier this week.
“Prime Minister Modi ji and I agree there’s huge potential here. We’re making great progress together on the 2030 Roadmap,” he stated, adding, “And we want to strike a truly ambitious trade deal that benefits both our nations, bringing tremendous opportunities to businesses and consumers, both in India and here at home.”
UK-India Week 2023
Sunak shared his observations at a reception he hosted to celebrate India Global Forum’s (IGF) UKIndia Week 2023. The event was held in the garden of 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s official residence in London.
His wife Akshata and mother-in-law Sudha Murty were also present during the occasion. They met the group of entrepreneurs, diplomats, celebrities, and others, and had conversations with several of them.
Among the guests were film actors Sonam Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi, Olympic medal winning Indian pugilist Mary Kom, musicians Shankar Mahadevan and Zakir Hussain, among others.
Against the backdrop of the 2030 Roadmap, and the ongoing Free Trade Agreement negotiations, Prime Minister Sunak’s comments are a key indicator of his ambition to elevate UK-India ties.
Forging closer ties
“Given the geopolitical upheaval and economic turbulence around the world, I believe that it is more important now than ever before that the UK and India forge closer and deeper ties,” according to IGF Founder and Chairman Manoj Ladwa.
“I am therefore grateful to Prime Minister Sunak for recognising the role that IGF is playing in bringing our two great democracies closer to unlocking the true potential of the partnership,” he added.
While speaking at IGF’s UK-India Awards in 2022, then as Chancellor, Rishi Sunak had emphasised the importance of forging a partnership of equals.
“India isn’t looking to the past. And nor can we. We need to move forward. Because the UK does not have a natural right to sit at the table with one of the world’s largest, fastest growing, and most dynamic economies. We must earn it,” he had remarked.
