‘Ready to do a free trade deal’: Keir Starmer speaks to Modi in his first meeting as UK PM | Latest News India

Newly elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday morning and said he was ready to strike a free trade deal that works for both sides, Downing Street said.

India and the UK have been negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) for over two years with a Conservative Party-led government, but the talks stalled in the 14th round due to general election cycles in both countries.

It is now expected that the new Labour government led by Starmer, elected with a landslide majority this week, will take over.

According to Downing Street’s account of the newly elected British prime minister’s Indo-Pacific-related international calls on Saturday, the call with Modi appears to have been the first, followed by Japan and Australia.

“The leaders exchanged congratulations on their respective election victories and discussed the strength of the UK-India relationship,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.

“Discussing the free trade agreement, the Prime Minister said he was ready to reach a deal that suited both sides. The leaders look forward to meeting as soon as possible,” the spokesman added.

The two sides have been working towards a deal to strengthen the £38.1 billion bilateral trade partnership since January 2022, when Boris Johnson was British prime minister.

Negotiations have since had to contend with political turmoil in the UK, which first led to a short-lived term for Liz Truss, followed by that of Rishi Sunak, Britain’s first prime minister of Indian origin.