India and Britain will start talking on FTA next year, important meeting between PM Modi and Keir Starmer

Negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Britain will start again. This was agreed upon in a separate meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Britain's PM Keir Starmer during the G-20 summit. Later, Britain's PM Starmer announced this and said that the talks between India and Britain on FTA will start again early next year. This was the first meeting between the two leaders in which a comprehensive review of bilateral relations was done.

PM Modi also raised the issue of extradition of criminals who commit economic crimes in India and take refuge in Britain. PM Modi stressed that it is important to resolve the cases related to economic offenders between the two countries. Both the criminals have been in Britain for a long time and the extradition proposal of the Indian government is entangled in legal complications.

PM Modi will attend the G-20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Brazil. PM Modi had separate bilateral meetings with the heads of five important European countries, namely Britain, Italy, France, Portugal, and Norway. For the first time, at a time when there has been growing tension in America-China relations, the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, the situation in West Asia, and the Indo-Pacific region, the Indian PM and diplomats comprehensively reviewed relations with European countries.

Following the meeting with PM Modi, British PM Starmer outlined the requirement for a new strategic partnership between India and Britain and has termed the relationship with such a huge economy as that of India as necessary for creating more employment and prosperity in his country. PM Modi, too, has underlined the importance of this relationship and declared the opening of two new Consulates General in Britain - Belfast and Manchester.

This has been decided in view of the requirement of growing economic and cultural relations between the two countries. According to the received information from the Indian Foreign Ministry, PM Modi said, "It is necessary that the issue of criminals living in Britain, who commit economic crimes in India, should be resolved." On legal immigration and movement, talks are going on between the two countries, and both the Prime Ministers have also reviewed it.

After that, both top leaders instructed the cabinet ministers to take steps in different areas under agreements made under the overall strategic partnership. This instruction is considered necessary because due to frequent changes at the head of the government in Britain, there is a problem in implementing the agreements made under the strategic partnership.

PM Modi also separately met Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni, during which the India-Italy Joint Action Plan for the year 2025-2029 was given approval. It had stated giving special importance to strengthening cooperation in the fields of defense, security, and business between the two countries. Since the interest of Italy in the Indo-Pacific region is constantly showing an upward trend, in view of which, the said roadmap has talked about increasing cooperation between the two countries.

Apart from this, an agreement has been continuously made to keep on the military training, dialogue, and mutual consultation between the military officers of both countries. The Defense Ministries of both nations have been asked to prepare a defense industrial roadmap. There is also a talk of continuing the annual meeting of the foreign ministers of both countries.