India and UK Build on Trade Deal, Strengthen Ties

India met with the UK in Mumbai recently, allowing them to strengthen ties, discuss plans for the future, and build on their trade deal from July.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer flew down to Mumbai for a two-day meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hoping to strengthen ties during the process. Starmer also brought his largest-ever trade delegation with him, consisting of over 100 business, university, and cultural leaders from the UK.

While the two leaders did discuss other issues, like India's continued investments into Russian oil amid the Russia-Ukraine War, the topic at the forefront of the meeting was discussing how to build on their trade deal from July.

During the summer, India and the UK signed a major free trade agreement which had been in negotiations for several years. The deal made many Indian goods cheaper to export to the UK and vice versa, along with establishing a joint solution to illegal migration in both countries. According to the British government, the deal has already led to over $1.3 billion in investments from Indian companies and the creation of around 7,000 jobs in the UK.

Now, after this meeting, Britain has agreed to make several significant investments in India across multiple sectors. One of these major investments includes growing Britain's network of renowned international university campuses, bringing several new locations into India and supporting both economies.

Additionally, the UK signed a contract worth over $465 million to supply the Indian army with weapons, displaying their willingness to cooperate with India despite their opposing views on Russia and the ongoing war in Ukraine. The next phase of the military deal will allow the two countries to work together on investing in electric-powered engines for naval ships and is worth another $332 million.

These investments are just a few of many in various different sectors that will allow the UK and India to strengthen each others' economies and help diversify their relations.

Also, both British and Indian leaders hailed the deal from July as crucial to their efforts to strengthen ties, as it has enabled them to increase investments in each others' countries.

This strengthening of ties comes as the United States continues to drift farther away from the rest of the world, with Trump's tariffs forcing other countries to diversify their economies. However, this new deal and the investments that have come after it represent an incredible boost to both the economies of Britain, which has already been stagnating for several years, and India, which is the fastest-growing major economy in the world.

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