London: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak met at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali on Wednesday and discussed ways to boost trade between the two countries, Modi said. It was the first meeting between Modi and Sunak, who is of Indian origin, since the British prime minister took office in October.

 

Earlier on Wednesday, Sunak's office said Britain was currently negotiating a trade deal with India, which if agreed would the first of its kind that India has made with a European country. "India attaches great importance to robust ties with United Kingdom," Modi said on Twitter after the meeting.

 

The Prime Minister and his Indian counterpart held talks at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, as Mr Sunak conducted a flurry of international meetings. "We discussed ways to increase commercial linkages, raise the scope of security cooperation in context of India's defence reforms and make people-to-people ties even stronger." He also held his first in-person discussion with US President Joe Biden since becoming PM, although a planned meeting with China's Xi Jinping was called off.

 

The final day of the G20 summit has been dominated by debates about how to respond to Russia's latest wave of missile strikes on Ukraine. World leaders have been left scrambling to clarify what happened after a missile also hit NATO member Poland and killed two people.

 

After talks with Mr Sunak, Mr Modi said his country 'attaches great importance to robust ties' with Britain. The Indian PM added on Twitter: 'We discussed ways to increase commercial linkages, raise the scope of security cooperation in context of India’s defence reforms and make people-to-people ties even stronger.'

 

A reciprocal UK-India migration pact will begin early next year and allow degree-educated Indian students aged 18 to 30 to stay for up to two years. It will be seen as an attempt to get a trade treaty with India over the line, with ministers having been locked in talks since January. No10 said Mr Sunak and Mr Modi, during their talks today, agreed on the enduring importance of the UK-India relationship, and of the living bridge between our countries.

 

The leaders discussed the range of areas where the UK and India are working increasingly closely and have the opportunity to further develop our links, including defence and security,' a Downing Street spokesperson added. They looked forward to the agreement of a UK-India free trade deal, which has the potential to unlock investment and increase jobs in both our countries, as well as expanding our deep cultural links.

 

A UK-India trade deal could be worth up to £28billion a year by 2035, although New Delhi has been driving a hard bargain over demands for more visas for Indians to work and live in Britain as part of an agreement. Both Mr Sunak's predecessors, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, had been pushing for a UK-India trade deal to be signed by the end of last month. But that deadline was ditched when no breakthrough in negotiations occurred.