United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer is scheduled to visit India for two days starting October 8 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced the visit of the UK PM on Saturday. This will be Prime Minister Starmer’s first official visit to India.
What’s On UK PM Starmer’s India Visit Agenda?
1- According to the MEA, during the visit, on October 9 in Mumbai, the two Prime Ministers will take stock of progress in diverse aspects of the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in line with ‘Vision 2035’, a focussed and time bound 10-year Roadmap of programmes and initiatives in key pillars of trade and investment, technology and innovation, defence and security, climate and energy, health, education and people to people relations.
“Both leaders will engage with businesses and industry leaders on opportunities presented by the India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) as a central pillar of the future India–UK economic partnership. They will also exchange views on issues of regional and global importance,” read a statement issued by the MEA.
2- Prime Ministers Modi and Starmer will also attend the 6th edition of the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai and deliver keynote addresses. The leaders will engage with industry experts, policymakers and innovators at the sidelines of the event.
“The visit will build on the momentum and substance generated by the visit of Prime Minister Modi to the UK on 23–24 July 2025. It will provide a valuable opportunity to reaffirm the shared vision of India and the United Kingdom to build a forward-looking partnership,” the MEA stated.
The India-UK FTA was signed in the presence of PM Modi and Keir Starmer, providing greater access to goods and services between the two countries.
Furthermore, as per ANI, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying had said in a release, the agreement was formalised in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and was officially signed by India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, and the UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds.
PM Modi’s Meeting With Starmer
Prime Minister Modi had met the UK PM at the latter’s country residence at Chequers in Buckinghamshire, where the two leaders held a one-on-one meeting.
The leaders had welcomed the signing of the historic India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which raised the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to a new level, while significantly enhancing bilateral trade, investment, economic collaborations, and job creation in both economies.
Noting the growing collaboration in the fields of capital markets and financial services, Prime Minister Modi had underlined in July that the two sides could work to promote greater interaction between GIFT City in Gujarat, India’s first international financial services centre, and the UK’s vibrant financial ecosystem.
Meanwhile, IANS reported that the two leaders had also welcomed the finalization of a Defence Industrial Roadmap to promote collaboration in co-design, co-development, and co-production of defence products to meet the growing demand in both countries, as well as for the world market.
