London: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on Thursday, where the two leaders are expected to sign the recently announced UK-India trade agreement.
During his brief visit to the UK, Modi will also meet King Charles III. This marks his fourth visit to the UK since becoming India’s leader in 2014.
Starmer and Modi are also expected to discuss last month’s Air India crash, in which 241 people died after a London-bound flight crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad in western India.
The British leader is also facing calls to raise the case of a Scottish Sikh activist who was imprisoned in India seven years ago on terrorism charges.
In May, Starmer and Modi announced they had reached a free trade agreement, which the UK government says will boost the British economy by £4.8 billion ($6.5 billion) annually.
In a statement late Wednesday, Starmer said, “Our historic trade deal with India is a big win for the UK.”
Starmer’s newly elected government is struggling to revive a weakened economy plagued by years of stagnant growth and high inflation.
The UK and India hope the deal will increase bilateral trade by £25.5 billion while boosting the British economy and wages.
The UK and India are the world’s sixth and fifth largest economies respectively, with a bilateral trade relationship worth about £41 billion, and mutual investments supporting over 600,000 jobs across both countries.
Departing India on Wednesday, Modi said the partnership had “gained significant momentum in recent years.”
He added, “We now have the opportunity to further strengthen our economic partnership, aimed at promoting prosperity, development, and job creation in both countries.”
The agreement will lower tariffs on British exports to India, including whisky, cosmetics, and medical devices.
In return, the UK will reduce duties on Indian imports like frozen prawns, textiles, footwear, and food products.
Air India Crash
On June 12, the Air India crash claimed the lives of around 169 Indian passengers and 52 British citizens, making it one of the deadliest aviation accidents in terms of British fatalities.
A lawyer representing 20 British families is expected to urge Starmer to address allegations of misidentification of victims’ remains.
James Haley-Pritt told the Press Association that relatives of one of the victims discovered that a coffin contained “mixed” remains.
The agency also reported that another family was informed a coffin held a completely different body, not that of their loved one.
Jagtar Singh Johal Case
Another sensitive topic could be the case of blogger Jagtar Singh Johal, imprisoned in India since 2017 over allegations of conspiring in terrorist plots against right-wing Hindu leaders.
He has not been convicted of any crime and was acquitted of one of nine charges in March.
His brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, said in a statement that the case “should be high on the agenda” when the two leaders meet.
Starmer and Modi have met twice recently: last month at the G7 summit in Canada and last year at the G20 summit in Brazil.
