Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi mark ‘new era’ in UK-India ties with investment, migration pacts

Britain and India announced £1 billion (US$1.39 billion) of private-sector investment and committed to seek a free trade deal as Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed a new era in bilateral relations on Tuesday. Johnson held a virtual meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, replacing a trade visit he had to cancel last month due to surging Covid-19 cases in India. Britain, the world’s fifth-largest economy, sees closer ties with India, the sixth biggest, as a key pillar of its post-Brexit push to seek trade and influence in the Indo-Pacific region and address growing Chinese dominance. Britain’s Carrier Strike Group will visit India later this year as part of efforts to increase defence co-operation in the region. A message for US and China as India and Russia put two and two together “The agreements we have made today mark the beginning of a new era in the UK-India relationship,” Johnson said in a statement. “The UK and India share many fundamental values … There is a living bridge uniting the people of our countries.” India won independence from former colonial power Britain in 1947 and the two countries retain deep ties, with more than 1 million Britons claiming Indian origin. The British government set out £533 million of Indian investment into Britain, including £446 million of export deals for British businesses. The package also includes a £240 million investment in the UK by the Serum Institute, the world’s biggest vaccine-maker, that will support clinical trials, research and possibly vaccine production. The Serum Institute, in collaboration with Codagenix, has started early-stage trials of a one-dose nasal vaccine against Covid-19. A pact on migration sought to address friction between the two allies, in which Britain says there are too many Indians living illegally in Britain, and India says tens of thousands who come to Britain to study are denied job opportunities. That deal will provide enhanced employment prospects for 3,000 young Indian professionals annually, in return for India agreeing to take back any of its citizens who are living illegally in the Britain. “It is our solemn duty that Indian nationals who are undocumented, or are in distress abroad and not being given nationality or residence permits, have to be taken back,” an Indian foreign ministry official said. Britain sends 1,000 more ventilators to India The two countries also announced agreements on climate change, technology and pharmaceuticals. The investment announcement came alongside an “Enhanced Trade Partnership” agreement, and both sides committed to begin full trade talks in the autumn with the ambition to double existing bilateral trade by 2030. “Pre-FTA discussions will be concluded by the end of this year. Then early next year or by the middle of next year, both sides have agreed for an interim trade deal and will continue negotiations for an FTA,” Indian foreign ministry official Sandeep Chakravorty said. “The two leaders agreed not to draw out these discussions too long and it was in our mutual benefit to conclude the FTA at an early date,” he added. ‘Artificial’ Australia, India, Japan supply chain criticised by China The partnership deal will lift export barriers on goods ranging from British apples to medical devices, and open up India’s legal services sector to British firms. In return Britain agreed to improve access to its fisheries and nursing sectors. The challenges of reaching a trade agreement were underlined by separate news on Tuesday that the EU and India had agreed to restart trade talks which have been stalled since 2013. Some of the investments announced by Britain on Tuesday had already been made public. British estimates combined with data from the firms involved showed the deals would create more than 6,500 jobs in Britain. As India is facing an unprecedented health crisis owing to Covid-19, Modi thanked Johnson for the prompt assistance provided by Britain in the form of critical medical equipment in the fight against Covid-19, Indian officials said. In the UK, many people of Indian descent have been horrified by images of mass cremations and doctors struggling to keep up with rising numbers of critically ill patients. “In the last week, the British people have stepped up in their thousands to support our Indian friends during this terrible time in a demonstration of the deep connection between the UK and India,″ Johnson said after the meeting. “This connection will only grow over the next decade as we do more together to tackle the world’s biggest problems and make life better for our people.″ Additional reporting by AP