On March 9, Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar concluded a 6-day trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland, which was hailed as having injected a “fresh momentum” into the partnership. The talks, which Jaishankar described as “wide-ranging and productive,” focused on “strategic coordination, political cooperation, trade deal negotiation, education, technology, mobility and people-to-people exchanges.” Both sides also exchanged views on regional and global issues, specifically the Ukraine conflict and developments in Bangladesh.
Trade, technology and investment cooperation figured prominently during Jaishankar’s high level diplomatic engagements with his counterpart David Lammy, Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds, and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. Last month, Reynolds was in New Delhi to “restart” FTA discussions, which began in January 2022 but were paused after 13 rounds of negotiations around January 2024 due to general elections in both countries. In an interview with an Indian news channel, Reynolds described the discussions during his visit as having “exceeded expectations” with “only a few outstanding issues remaining,” while refraining to set an expected timeline for signing the agreement.
Jaishankar’s visit, which follows Reynolds’ visit, signals a renewed sense of urgency from New Delhi to ensure the speedy completion of negotiations.
Enhancing trade and investment ties is part of the “2030 Roadmap for India-UK future relations.” Released in 2021, it provides a “framework” to “steer cooperation for the next ten years” comprised of “more than 1,000 lines of activity” across five pillars, namely, people-to-people ties, trade, defense and security, climate, and health. Alongside the roadmap, both sides also upgraded ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Pursuant to the same, India and the U.K. have held two “2+2” dialogues to discuss and review all aspects of the India-U.K. Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The latest one was held in December 2024, where both sides agreed to work toward a “refreshed roadmap” for 2030.
Recent developments on the defense and security front confirm the positive momentum in bilateral ties. Recognizing the untapped potential of this defense partnership, last month, the U.K. announced the formal launch of the “Defence Partnership-India” — a dedicated cell within the U.K. Ministry of Defense for deepening cooperation with India. Industry to industry engagement also received a boost at Aero India 2025, with Thales and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) signing a contract that will deliver Laser Beam Riding MANPADs (LBRM), with an initial supply of High Velocity Missiles (STARStreak) and launchers, to be delivered this year. India-U.K. military cooperation has grown in recent years. In August 2024, a Royal Air Force (RAF) contingent participated in the Indian Air Force (IAF)’s first ever multinational air exercise, reflecting the growing ties between the RAF and the IAF. In November 2024, India and the U.K. signed a Statement of Intent on cooperation on design & development of Electric Propulsion Systems for the Indian Navy, as part of efforts by both sides to promote indigenous development of niche technologies.
Key initiatives have been announced in diverse sectors in recent months. In July 2024, the Technology Security Initiative, coordinated by the National Security Advisors (NSAs) of both countries, was announced to bring into sharper focus collaboration in critical and emerging technologies (CET) across priority sectors, as identified in the roadmap. In September, in a bid to strengthen the financial and professional services partnership, the two sides launched the U.K. India Infrastructure Financing Bridge, which aims to facilitate sustainable international infrastructure investments into India, leveraging the U.K.’s expertise in this domain.
A lot of the progress in bilateral ties can be attributed to the Labour Party’s commitment to a “new strategic partnership,” following an era of strained ties under former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. In a stark contrast to previous Labour governments’ push to intervene in the Kashmir dispute, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reiterated that Kashmir is an internal issue and would be resolved bilaterally between India and Pakistan, without interference from the U.K.
Starmer’s administration has also been more accommodating towards Indian sensitivities by vowing to remove “Hinduphobia” and eliminating “anti-India” sentiments.
However, despite the overall positive direction in bilateral ties, both sides need to take practical steps in difficult areas to achieve Vision 2030.
It is unclear how outstanding issues such as visa and mobility rules for Indians in the U.K., and New Delhi’s demand for exemptions from a proposed U.K. carbon tax will be resolved.
The security breach during Jaishankar’s visit by pro-Khalistani activists was met with a strong response by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, which accused the U.K. of providing “licence” to “such forces” and pointed to Britain’s “indifference” to such “intimidation, threats and other actions.” The issue of deportation of “Khalistani elements” residing in the U.K. remains a thorny issue, as U.K.-based Khalistani groups will keep lobbying against India, making it a difficult balancing act for the Labour government.
