NEW DELHI: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on Saturday, spoke with the newly elected British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer and invited him to visit India, spoke about early conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
"Pleased to speak with Keir Starmer. Congratulated him on being elected as the PM of the UK. We remain committed to deepening Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and robust India-UK economic ties for progress and prosperity of our peoples and global good," said PM Modi.
Meanwhile, PM Modi extended an invitation to PM Starmer for an early visit to India and the two leaders agreed to work towards the early conclusion of the FTA which would be mutually beneficial to both nations.
"Appreciating the positive contributions of the Indian community in the social, economic and political development of the UK, the two sides agreed to continue to promote close people-to-people ties," according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
PM Starmer too congratulated PM Modi on his return to power.
"Discussing the importance of the living bridge between the UK and India and the 2030 roadmap, the two leaders agreed that there was a wide range of areas across defence and security, critical and emerging technology and climate change for the two nations to deepen their cooperation," according to a statement issued by 10 Downing Street.
Starmer is likely to bridge all the differences that the earlier members of his party had with India. During his polling campaign, Starmer had indicated that he would like to boost ties with India and his manifesto included a commitment to pursue a new strategic partnership.
Starmer had also wooed Hindu voters in Britain and visited many temples during his election campaign. This was a marked shift from the Labour Party’s former leader Jeremy Corbyn.
A Labour win with Starmer would also see a stricter handling of anti-Hindu hate crimes in the UK. A week back while visiting the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir in Kingsbury, he had said that there was no place for Hinduphobia in Britain.
On the Kashmir conflict, Starmer has indicated that his party was committed to eliminating any extremist views that could strain UK-India relations.
Labour Party chair, Anneliese Dodds had also said that their party had cleansed its ranks of any members with extremist views and invited the Indian diaspora to report any instances of anti-India sentiment pledging swift action.
