Never in the last 75 years since India became independent has the time been ripe to strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the UK and India as today. The UK’s departure from the European Union (EU) presents an exciting opportunity to forge friendship which is bound to be seen by future historians as the golden era of India-UK relations. The relationship has moved 180 degrees, from ‘Intimate Enemies’ as described during the colonial era to ‘Intimate Friends’ today. Friendship with India, which has now overtaken the UK in terms of the size of its GDP, is much sought after by all G7 powers including the UK.
Shared chemistry
Key favourable factors are helping forge this friendship between India and the UK. Indian PM Narendra Modi and UK PM Rishi Sunak share great chemistry and friendship which was evident when the two met in midNovember 2022 on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia. Earlier, as soon as Sunak, with ancestral origins in India, assumed the PM office, PM Modi after congratulating him over the telephone, tweeted: “We will work together to further strengthen our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. We also agreed on the importance of an early conclusion of a comprehensive and balanced FTA.”
Sunak, who described himself as a “visual representation” of the historic links between the UK and India, tweeted: “UK and India share so much. I am excited about what our two democracies can achieve as we deepen our security, defence, and economic partnership in the months and years ahead.”
A special gesture
In a “special gesture”, PM Sunak joined a UK Cabinet Office meeting in London on February 4, 2023, between Indian National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his British counterpart Tim Barrow.
Doval was in London for an annual bilateral strategic dialogue with Barrow on his way back from Washington. British PMs conventionally do not break protocol to visit meet NSAs. But PM Sunak made an exception.
An excited Sunak highlighted the UK Government’s support to deepen strategic partnerships between India and UK in trade, defence and S&T. India and the UK share a comprehensive strategic partnership. They have agreed on a 2030 Roadmap to enhance bilateral relations in all spheres, including defence and security.
FTA negotiations
The FTA has had six rounds of talks, with a seventh round expected in Britain. Bilateral trade currently stands at around 29.6 billion pounds a year – a figure both sides aim to enhance with an FTA. The UK-India friendship kicked off when Modi invited former PM Boris Johnson to be the annual guest of honour at India’s Republic Day celebrations in 2021. Johnson invited Modi to the G7 summit in Cornwall, Britain. The Covid pandemic halted face-to-face diplomacy on both occasions. The pandemic delayed but did not deter the forging of a great friendship between the two leaders of the world’s oldest and largest democracy.
Johnson visited India on 21-22 April 2022. The two PMs pledged a joint statement towards shared security and prosperity through national resilience and reviewed progress on the IndiaUK roadmap towards 2030. The two leaders resolved to advance the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreed upon in 2021.
Johnson-Modi bond
Widely seen as a cheerleader for closer ties with India, Johnson had a palpably close bond with Modi – someone he would often refer to as his special friend or “khaas dost”. The two PMs pledged to achieve a “quantum leap” in the bilateral relationship as they clinched an “Enhanced Trade Partnership” as part of the 2030 UK-India Roadmap. The aim is to double bilateral trade by 2030.
Modi-Sunak chemistry is bound to propel this partnership in the future. Given that both democracies face general elections in 2024 there is a greater urgency to sign the FTA.
Diaspora contribution
The size of the Indian diaspora and its contribution to the UK economy bolsters the friendship. Around 1.8 million Indians contribute over six per cent to UK’s economy. The existing economic relations are not true to their potential. The UK is not in the top 15 trading partners of India, although India held the 12th position in the list of the UK’s trading partners. India is the second largest investor in the UK after the USA, generating 12 lakh jobs in the UK. An ambitious FTA between the two countries and expansion of the defence and security partnership are bound to take the partnership between the two countries to their golden era.
