UK PM Keir Starmer’s India visit: Trade, investments, economic cooperation on agenda in meeting with PM Modi
Trade, investments, and economic cooperation form the crux of the key India-UK meetings as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrives in Mumbai for a two-day visit. Starmer’s first visit to India as the UK PM will be packed with key meetings with senior Indian government ministers and businesses to deepen bilateral trade and diplomatic relationships.
Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle and Investment Minister Lord Jason Stockwood will be part of the UK delegation visiting India. The visit focuses on the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the two countries. He will be accompanied by a delegation comprising over 100 business leaders, university vice-chancellors and cultural chiefs.
In July 2025, Prime Minister Modi visited the UK, and signed the historic CETA. The two leaders also endorsed the India-UK Vision 2035, which covers cooperation in job creation, education and skills development, technology and research, climate partnership, and defence and security.
Both prime ministers Modi and Starmer will deliver keynote addresses at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, underscoring the India-UK Technology Security Initiative (TSI) signed last year with an aim to enhance bilateral collaboration.
INDIA-UK TIES
Both countries aim to boost bilateral trade and investment, supported by a strong Indian community and major Indian companies in the UK. The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies is expected to provide Indian businesses with better market access in sectors such as textiles, leather, footwear, sports goods, toys, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, and auto parts. The UK has offered zero duty on 99.1 per cent of tariff lines, covering 100 per cent of trade value, effective immediately upon the FTA’s enforcement.
India and the UK are set to benefit from cooperation in trade, investment, research and development, technology, innovation, mobility, and education. The FTA will also include new areas like gender, innovation, and support for small and medium enterprises.
Bilateral trade between India and the UK stood at 56 billion US dollars in 2024 and is projected to double by 2030. Defence cooperation continues to grow through a Defence Industrial Roadmap aimed at joint design, development, and production of defence products. This partnership includes joint military exercises, port calls, technological cooperation, promotion of Make in India, and expert exchanges. Notable exercises include Konkan 2023, Cobra Warrior 2023, Ajeya Warrior 2023, and TarangShakti 2024.
In science and technology, plans are underway to launch an India-UK Net Zero Innovation Virtual Centre to promote industrial decarbonisation and explore green hydrogen as a renewable energy source.
Education ties remain strong with around 170,000 Indian students studying in the UK. Several UK universities plan to open campuses in India, including the University of Southampton’s new campus in Gurugram, the first foreign university campus under India’s New Education Policy.
The Indian diaspora constitutes about 2.6 per cent of the UK population and contributes significantly to academia, literature, arts, medicine, science, sports, industry, business, and politics. Over 65,000 companies in the UK are owned by the Indian diaspora, playing a key role in job creation, economic growth, and tax revenue.
The British government’s analysis suggests that the agreement will increase bilateral trade by 25.5 billion pounds. It is also expected to raise the UK’s GDP by 4.8 billion pounds and boost wages by 2.2 billion pounds annually in the long term.