{"id":38876,"date":"2025-03-10T19:12:43","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T13:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=38876"},"modified":"2025-03-10T20:33:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T15:03:00","slug":"eam-visit-united-kingdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-03-2025\/eam-visit-united-kingdom","title":{"rendered":"EAM Visit United Kingdom (UK)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/IR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The External Affairs Minister (EAM) <strong>paid an official visit to the United Kingdom.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Both leaders discussed <strong>India-UK relations<\/strong>, especially the<strong> Free Trade Agreement (FTA),<\/strong> technology cooperation, people-to-people ties, and global issues like the Ukraine conflict.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Progress on Roadmap 2.0<\/strong> to energize the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was reviewed.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reaffirming India-UK Ties: <\/strong>The visit reinforced the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, focusing on political, economic, and people-to-people collaboration in a changing global landscape.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Brief on India-UK Relations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: <\/strong>Upgraded in 2021 with a 10-year Roadmap.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India-UK has 2+2 Foreign and Defence Dialogue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trade Relations:<\/strong> India is the UK\u2019s 11th largest trading partner, while the UK ranks 14th for India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Currently, bilateral trade stands at GBP 42 billion, and the balance is in India\u2019s favour with Britain\u2019s trade deficit with India amounting to GBP 8.3 billion in 2023.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>FTA negotiations started in <strong>2022<\/strong>, and aims to double bilateral trade by 2030.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Defence and Security: <\/strong>UK contributed only<strong> 3%<\/strong> of India\u2019s defence imports in the last decade.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India aims to diversify from Russian defence imports &amp; develop indigenous defence industries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The UK can aid in technology transfers &amp; advanced defence capabilities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Open General Export Licence (OGEL) (2022) \u2013 UK\u2019s first such license for an Indo-Pacific country, easing military tech exports to India.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Joint Exercises: Ex Ajeya Warrior, Exercise Konkan, Ex Cobra Warrior.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Multilateral Collaboration: <\/strong>Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) (India &#8211; Member, UK &#8211; Dialogue Partner).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) (Both UK &amp; India &#8211; Members).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) (India &amp; UK co-lead Maritime Security pillar).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The UK supports India\u2019s bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council (UNSC).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India and the UK cooperate within the G20 on global trade, economic stability, and climate change.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>People-to-people ties: <\/strong>Rise of Indian-origin politicians.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Indian Diaspora considered a \u201cmodel minority\u201d, excelling in multiple fields.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>British Indian Community: <\/strong>Over 1.6 million (2.5% of UK\u2019s population).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"eae9de\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"654\" height=\"455\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/india-uk-bilateral-defence-projects-pic.webp\" alt=\"india uk bilateral defence projects\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-38877\" style=\"--dominant-color: #eae9de; width:408px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/india-uk-bilateral-defence-projects-pic.webp 654w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/india-uk-bilateral-defence-projects-pic-300x209.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 654px) 100vw, 654px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Key Issues in FTA Negotiations: <\/strong>India\u2019s demands greater mobility &amp; visa access for skilled professionals.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The UK demands Lower tariffs on automobiles and alcohol and Greater access for the services sector.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>UK\u2019s carbon tax and India\u2019s FDI restrictions &amp; regulatory complexities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Geopolitical Differences: <\/strong>India\u2019s neutral stance on Russia-Ukraine war vs UK\u2019s strong opposition to Russia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Khalistan &amp; Extremism Concerns: <\/strong>Attacks on the Indian High Commission in London in 2023.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Visa &amp; Immigration Policies:<\/strong> Strict UK visa policies for Indian professionals and students. Also concerns over illegal immigration and overstaying visas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Illegal immigration: <\/strong>Over 100,000 illegal Indian immigrants remain unresolved due to the lack of a migration agreement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Expediting Free Trade Agreement (FTA).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Agreement on Migration and Mobility.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhancing Strategic Ties in the Indo-Pacific.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strengthening Defense &amp; Security Cooperation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mea.gov.in\/press-releases.htm?dtl\/39140\/Visit_of_External_Affairs_Minister_to_the_United_Kingdom_March_49_2025#:~:text=What&#039;s%20New-,Visit%20of%20External%20Affairs%20Minister%20to%20the%20United,March%204%2D9%2C%202025)&amp;text=At%20the%20invitation%20of%20the,6%2D7%2C%202025).\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>PIB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The External Affairs Minister (EAM) paid an official visit to the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38876"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38911,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38876\/revisions\/38911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}