PRESS RELEASE : Foreign Secretary travels to India to cement stronger partnership on tech, climate and growth [July 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 24 July 2024.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy makes his first visit to New Delhi to push the UK growth agenda.

• UK growth at the top of the agenda for the Foreign Secretary’s first visit to New Delhi
• David Lammy will highlight the importance of new partnership with India that focuses on economic, domestic and global security
• he will hold high level meetings with the Indian government as well as climate and business leaders

Economic, domestic and global security will be at the heart the Foreign Secretary’s first visit to India as he travels to New Delhi today (24 July) to unlock the full potential of the UK-India partnership.

On the visit, the Foreign Secretary will push for a reset of the UK-India partnership including through reinforcing the UK’s commitment to securing a Free Trade Agreement that will benefit both economies.

He will tell his Indian counterpart that he wants to drive forward greater growth for both countries.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:

India is the emerging superpower of the 21st century, the largest country in the world with 1.4 billion people and one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

Our Free Trade Agreement negotiations is the floor not the ceiling of our ambitions to unlock our shared potential and deliver growth, from Bengaluru to Birmingham. We have shared interests on the green transition, new technologies, economic security and global security.

I am travelling to India in my first month as Foreign Secretary because resetting our relationship with the Global South is a key part of how this government will reconnect Britain for our security and prosperity at home.

David Lammy will galvanise support for accelerated action on the climate crisis with India as an indispensable partner – driving forward the clean energy transition and creating opportunities for British and Indian businesses. He will discuss partnering on Indian-led global initiatives to build clean power access, climate resilience in the Global South and small island states.

The Foreign Secretary will underscore the importance of the ‘living bridge’ between the UK and India. It represents the 1.7 million people with Indian heritage that have made their home in the UK and make an exceptional contribution to British life.

In a visit to India’s third largest technology company, the Foreign Secretary will meet business leaders to highlight how the UK and India are working together on shared ambitions such as cutting-edge science to encourage innovation, boost trade, and improve the livelihoods of working people in both countries.

The Foreign Secretary will also hold high-level talks with members from the Indian government including Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister. He will reiterate the extraordinary contribution of British Indians, saying that they enrich the UK’s social and economic landscape and are the epitome of modern Britain.

He will say that we must harness this and unlock the potential of the new UK-India partnership, so we can deliver prosperity not just for the people of India and the UK but for the rest of the world.

The Foreign Secretary will travel on from India to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Laos where he will advance UK economic partnerships and unveil new cooperation on climate and health.