Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the U.K. on Wednesday- (July 23, 2025) evening, kicking off the first leg of his two-nation tour, as India and the U.K. prepare to sign a “free trade” agreement (FTA) on Thursday (July 24, 2025).
During the visit, Mr. Modi and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer are expected to review ties, with the sides discussing technology, investment, climate, defence, trade, and migration. The Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet Britain’s monarch, King Charles III.
“The leaders will unveil their vision for a modern, reinvigorated partnership over the next decade – The UK-India Vision 2035,” a U.K. government statement said. This newly packaged and extended framework appears to have replaced the ‘2030 Roadmap’ announced by India and the U.K. in 2021, during former (Conservative) U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s tenure.
Short visit
The Prime Minister’s visit is fleeting — less than 24 hours long — with Mr. Modi set to fly to the Maldives on Thursday evening to celebrate the country’s 60th anniversary of Independence from Britain and the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Male.
“During my meeting with Prime Minister Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer, we will have the opportunity to further enhance our economic partnership, aimed at fostering prosperity, growth and jobs creation in both countries. I also look forward to calling on His Majesty King Charles III during the visit,” Mr. Modi said in a pre-departure statement. The so-called ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ with the U.K. had made “significant progress” in recent years, Mr. Modi said.
The meeting comes exactly a year since the two countries signed a technology cooperation framework — the Technology and Security Initiative (TSI). A new bilateral investment treaty is also currently under discussion and a defence industrial cooperation framework was announced earlier this year.
Goyal to sign FTA
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who is accompanying Mr. Modi on the trip, and his British counterpart, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, will sign the trade agreement on behalf of the two governments.
The deal would boost trade between the two countries by £25.5 billion each year, a U.K. government statement said.
Indian consumers would have greater access to various British products “from soft drinks and cosmetics to cars and medical devices”, the U.K. statement said, citing a drop in average tariff rates from 15% to 3%. The statement also said the U.K. clean energy sector would have “unprecedented” access to India’s procurement market and U.K. financial services would be treated on a par with domestic firms in India, specifically in the insurance sector.
‘Major win for Britain’: PM Starmer
“Our landmark trade deal with India is a major win for Britain,” Mr. Starmer said in a statement.
“It will create thousands of British jobs across the U.K., unlock new opportunities for businesses and drive growth in every corner of the country, delivering on our Plan for Change,” he added.
However, the impact of the trade deal with India is expected to be about 0.1% of GDP (or £4.8 billion annually) in the long run, for Britain, as per U.K. government estimates. Britain’s economy is struggling and that a trade deal was signed is itself significant for Mr. Starmer. The British Prime Minister faces strong political headwinds from the right over immigration, and from his own Labour party, over attempts to cut spending on welfare.
One area Mr. Starmer has been polling ahead of Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is on the issue of who is most prime ministerial, Anand Menon, a political scientist at King’s College, London, told The Hindu.
“… Burnishing that brand — one way to do that is to be seen with other world leaders,” he said.
The world is unstable and uncertain for both India and the U.K. and forging closer ties with allies is a way of hedging, according to Mr. Menon. “For neither side does it mean there’s some deep ideological or any other affinity,” he said.
Maldives next
Following his meetings with the Prime Minister and the king, Mr. Modi will fly to Male. “I look forward to my meetings with President [Mohamed] Muizzu and other political leadership, to advance our joint vision of a Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership, and to strengthen our cooperation for peace, prosperity and stability in the Indian Ocean Region,” Mr. Modi said about the Maldives leg of his trip.
“I am confident that the visit will yield tangible outcomes, benefiting our people and advancing our Neighbourhood First Policy,” he added.
Published – July 24, 2025 01:05 am IST
