Theme:
- Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK) announced his resignation in July 2022. India said that change in leadership will not impact India-UK ties.
India – UK relations:
- Since India got independence in 1947, India and UK are maintaining a multifaceted partnership.
- In the 1990s, India was the UK’s second biggest trading partner, but in 2021, it became the 15th biggest trading partner. As of 2021, the UK is India’s 18th biggest trading partner.
- In 2021, India and UK agreed to a new ‘Enhanced Trade Partnership‘ (ETP) to enhance bilateral trade. Moreover, ‘Roadmap 2030’ was launched with the aim of doubling bilateral trade by 2030. Both the countries decided to co-operate with each other on trade, defence, cyber security and combating climate change.
- Since January 2022, India and UK are discussing the possibility of a ‘Free Trade Agreement’ (FTA). If the agreement takes place, it will boost India-UK trade and will be beneficial for both countries.
- Change in leadership in the UK may not impact India-UK ties due to several reasons. Most importantly, better trade relations with India are important for the UK to boost its ‘Global Britain’ ambition. Moreover, the British Indian population in the UK constitutes 1.8%.
- UK is a key investor in India. Recently, it has invested $89 million to support the growth of the renewable energy sector in India.
Conclusion:
India-UK have strong trade ties. The relations will continue to strengthen even after the change in leadership because that is beneficial for both countries.
Your Turn…
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Photo by Ketut Subiyanto
References:
- ‘Bharat tho sambhandalu – Johnson mudra’ article in Eenadu newspaper dated 13th July 2022.
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