India, UK boost ties in defence, trade and education during Starmer's visit

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is on a two-day visit to India, met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and held bilateral talks in Mumbai. This is Starmer's first visit to India since he took office in July last year.

 

The two leaders announced several measures to increase cooperation in several sectors, including defence, energy, climate, and education, among others.

 

India and the UK have also reached an agreement on cooperation in military training. "We are fully committed to enhancing maritime security cooperation with the UK in the Indo-Pacific region", PM Modi said.

 

As part of the increased cooperation, Starmer announced that nine British university campuses will be opening in India. "The demand for the best quality higher education is very high. So. I am really pleased to announce that more British Universities will be setting up campuses in India, making Britain India's leading international provider of higher education and delivering on our vision 2035", Starmer said.

 

Here's a list of outcomes of Starmer's first official visit to India:

 

Technology and Innovation

 

• Establishment of the India-UK Connectivity and Innovation Centre.
• Establishment of the India-UK Joint Centre for AI.
• Launch of Phase II of the UK-India Critical Minerals Supply Chain Observatory and establishment of a new satellite campus at IIT-ISM Dhanbad.
• Establishment of the Critical Minerals Industry Guild to secure resilient supply chains and promote green technologies.

 

Education

 

• Handing over the Letter of Intent for the opening of the Campus of Lancaster University in Bengaluru
• In-principle approval for the opening of the campus of the University of Surrey in GIFT City.

 

Trade and Investment

 

• Inaugural meeting of the reconstituted India-UK CEO Forum.
• Resetting the India-UK Joint Economic Trade Committee (JETCO), which will support the implementation of the CETA and drive economic growth and job creation in both countries.
• A new joint investment in the Climate Technology Startup Fund, a strategic initiative under the MoU between the Government of the UK and the State Bank of India for supporting innovative entrepreneurs in sectors such as climate technology and AI.

 

Climate, Health, and Research 

• Launch of Phase-III of Bio-Medical Research Career Programme.
• Establishment of the Offshore Wind Taskforce.
• Letter of Intent (LoI) between ICMR and NIHR, United Kingdom on Health Research.

 

Starmer's visit to India comes nearly two months after PM Modi visited the UK and the two countries signed a landmark free trade pact that will increase market access, cut tariffs, and is expected to result in doubling the bilateral trade by 2030.