Keir Starmer tells Modi he’s ready to strike free trade deal in first call as UK PM

London: 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 would suit 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.

“The Prime Minister (Starmer) said he looked forward to further deepening the strong and respectful relationship between the two countries, and welcomed Prime Minister Modi’s leadership on key global challenges, such as climate change and economic growth,” the spokesperson noted.

The leaders then reportedly discussed the importance of the “living bridge” between the two countries and the 2030 roadmap and agreed that there were a wide range of areas in which the two countries could deepen cooperation, including defense and security, critical and emerging technologies and climate change.

“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.

Labour’s election manifesto for Thursday’s election pledged to secure the deal, saying: “We will seek to establish a new strategic partnership with India, including a free trade agreement, as well as deepening cooperation in areas such as security, education, technology and climate change.”

The new foreign secretary in Starmer’s new government, David Lammy, also said he wanted to “finish the job” on the FTA and said he planned to visit India within the first month of being elected.

“My message to Finance Minister Sitharaman and Commerce Minister Goyal is that Labour is ready to go. Let us finally conclude our free trade agreement and move forward,” he said at the Global India Forum in London last week.