India-UK ties: India and the United Kingdom have historically shared strong ties, marked by historical, cultural, and economic connections. The relationship between the two countries has evolved over the years, and they have engaged in various collaborations and partnerships.
Recently, India and UK ties have been marked by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh meeting with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday. The two leaders discussed issues related to defence, economic cooperation and how India and UK could work together to strengthen a peaceful and stable global rules-based order.
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Taking to his X handle, Rajnath Singh said, “Had a very warm meeting with the UK Prime Minister, Shri @rishisunak in London. I had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues with him. We discussed issues pertaining to defence, economic cooperation and how India and UK could work together for strengthening a peaceful and stable global rules-based order.”
Had a very warm meeting with the UK Prime Minister, Shri @rishisunak in London. I had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues with him.
We discussed issues pertaining to defence, economic cooperation and how 🇮🇳 and 🇬🇧 could work together for strengthening a peaceful… pic.twitter.com/1yk2RWJpbn— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) January 11, 2024
Currently, Rajnath Singh is on an official visit to UK. It is the first visit by a sitting Indian Defence Minister to the UK in more than 20 years.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his UK counterpart Grant Shapps attended the India-UK Defence Industry CEOs Roundtable at Trinity House in London.
Insightful deliberations with the UK Foreign Secretary, Mr. David Cameron on boosting India-UK ties and deepening cooperation between both the countries. pic.twitter.com/wTBk7TMwQG
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) January 10, 2024
Strategic relationship between the UK and India
In a move that signals the growing importance of the strategic relationship between the UK and India, Defence Secretary Shapps welcomed Singh to the UK and the two leaders agreed on unprecedented levels of UK-India defence cooperation, according to an official release.
The UK announced its plans to send its Littoral Response Group to the Indian Ocean Region later this year, with a proposal for the Carrier Strike Group to visit the Indian waters in 2025.
The two nations also discussed future cooperation in defence from joint exercises to knowledge sharing and instructor exchanges. These steps build on the comprehensive strategic partnership envisaged in the 2030 India-UK roadmap.
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In the coming years, the UK and India will also embark on more complex exercises between their respective militaries, building up to a landmark joint exercise to be conducted before the end of 2030, supporting shared goals of protecting critical trade routes and upholding the international rules-based system, as per the release.
“Collaboration with industry is also key in the strategic defence partnership between the UK and India, with the two nations working together on electric propulsion systems that will power our future fleets and cooperating on the development of complex weapons,” Shapps was quoted as saying further in the release. The UK and India also confirmed several new joint initiatives.
