In the first telephonic conversation between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the leaders decided to meet on the sidelines of the G-20 leadership summit to be held mid-November in Bali, Indonesia.
“The leaders also agreed to work together as two great democracies to strengthen the developing economies of the world, and looked forward to meeting in person at the G20 in Indonesia,” according to the statement issued by 10 Downing Street.
The statement also mentioned that PM Modi conveyed his wishes to Rishi Sunak on his appointment on behalf of 1.6 billion Indians.
Early conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two sides was emphasised by PM Modi. The agreement was expected to be done by Diwali by the previous administration but took a backseat after the political maelstrom that England witnessed in the past couple of months.
“Glad to speak to Rishi Sunak today. Congratulated him on assuming charge as UK PM. We will work together to further strengthen our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. We also agreed on the importance of early conclusion of a comprehensive and balanced FTA,” Prime Minister Modi tweeted, after his conversation with Prime Minister Sunak.
Responding to PM Modi’s tweet, PM Sunak tweeted, “Thank you Prime Minister Narendra Modi for your kind words as I get started in my new role.”
“The UK and India share so much. I'm excited about what our two great democracies can achieve as we deepen our security, defence and economic partnership in the months & years ahead,” he added.
A statement issued by 10 Downing Street stated, “The Prime Minister hoped the UK and India could continue to make good progress in negotiations to finalise a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.”
“Discussing shared global challenges, the Prime Minister praised Prime Minister Modi’s leadership on tackling climate change and the leaders welcomed opportunities to bolster our security, defence and economic partnership,” said the statement by the UK Prime Minister’s office.
Rishi Sunak said that he intended to build on the relationship between UK and India to develop closer ties between the two countries and sees himself as a visual representation of the historic links between the two countries.