India, UK to forge 10-year roadmap for ties

India and the UK on Tuesday agreed on key elements of a 10-year roadmap to enhance their relationship and pledged to take forward talks on a free trade agreement against the backdrop of Britain looking to enhance its trade ties amid its troubled exit from the European Union.During talks between visiting UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab and his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, the two sides decided to work on common challenges and shared opportunities across the Indo-Pacific. Raab said Britain’s upcoming integrated strategic review will contain an “Indo-Pacific tilt” and there is “no stronger partner” in the east than India.

Four-hour long discussions between the foreign ministers focused on enhanced cooperation in five areas – connecting people, trade, defence and security, climate change and health – and the two sides also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, evolution of the Indo-Pacific, developments in the Middle East and challenges posed by terrorism and radicalism.“We agreed on key elements of a 10-year UK-India roadmap so that we can deliver a step change in ambition for the relationship between our two countries. We look forward to taking this forward in 2021, including through the UK’s presidency of the G7 and presidency of the UN climate change conference,” Raab said.

Raab said bilateral trade was growing at 11% before the Covid-19 pandemic and investments by the two sides supported more than 500,000 jobs in both countries. The two sides will work towards an “enhanced trade partnership” next year with the hope that it will be a “stepping stone towards a free trade agreement”, he said. Referring to the Indo-Pacific as a region with growth opportunities for several decades, Raab – the first foreign minister to make a bilateral visit to India in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic – said both countries have shared interests and challenges in this region, including maritime security, vulnerability of supply chains and climate change.