Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said the United Kingdom (UK) and other like minded countries should work with India for strengthening a peaceful and stable global rules-based order. He made this assertion during a meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on late Wednesday in London. Sunak said Britain is keen to bolster the defence and security pillar of UK-India ties.
Giving these details here on Thursday, defence ministry officials said Rajnath called on Sunak at 10 Downing Street adding the meeting was warm and cordial. The defence minister highlighted that both nations have made significant strides in moulding and recrafting the historic ties into a modern, multifaceted and mutually beneficial partnership, under the direction of the leaders of both the countries.
Rajnath recalled the recent enhancement in bilateral defence engagement, spanning joint exercises, training, capability building, increased interoperability, military-to-military ties especially in the maritime domain.
He emphasised the ongoing efforts to enhance defence industrial cooperation, including in the technology domain. He briefed Sunak about his positive interactions with the UK defence industry and the new positive energy in the bilateral defence relationship.
The defence minister stated that the UK and other like-minded countries should work with India for strengthening a peaceful and stable global rules-based order, including through partnering India in its inexorable rise, which can be strengthened, reinforced and speeded up with friendly collaboration.
Rajnath further stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading the quest of 1.4 billion Indians towards the national objective of becoming a developed country by mid-21st century. Prime Minister Modi's efforts have borne remarkable fruits, growth is sustainably on the upswing, poverty has been reduced drastically, and a business friendly architecture has been put in place. At the international level, the Government of India is ready to partner with friends like the UK to strengthen the rule-based world order.
Prime Minister Sunak fully agreed with Rajnath on the need for UK and India to work in the domains of trade, defence and technology. In particular, he expressed hope that the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations could be brought to a successful conclusion soon. He also underlined his keenness, and that of his Government, to strengthen the defence and security pillar of the bilateral relationship, including through Government backing for stronger business and technology partnerships with Indian counterpart entities.
Rajnath gifted a Ram Darbar statue to Prime Minister Sunak during the meeting, which was also attended by UK National Security Advisor(NSA) Sir Tim Barrow.
Rajnath also met with UK's Foreign Minister David Cameron at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Ministers appreciated the new momentum and direction of the India-UK partnership, symbolised by intense engagements at various levels.
The defence minister outlined his goal of integrating defence industries of both countries including through supply chain integration to build resilience. He also emphasised the importance of bilateral start-up level interaction, and identification and discussion of joint projects which India and UK could implement together.
Foreign Secretary Cameron reiterated the UK government's desire to collaborate with India in the defence areas, particularly in the field of defence industrial collaboration, as one of the means by which the UK hopes to strengthen the support for a rule-based international order.
Later, Rajnath interacted with the Indian community at India House, London. Over 160 prominent persons of Indian origin attended the interaction. A number of Indian military ex-servicemen, including few family members of World War II veterans were also present.
According to PTI report, the minister addressed the gathering to apprise them of the fast pace of growth and development underway in India.
"It is projected that by 2075-2080, India will be the No. 1 country in terms of economic ranking. This is the image of India today because of the fast pace of growth," said Rajnath in an address to the gathering in Hindi, which was later briefly summarised by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami in English.
Rajnath also shared aspects of a recent article in the 'Global Times', a Chinese government publication, entitled 'What I feel about the Bharat Narrative in India' by Zhang Jiadong.
"Even the Chinese government has been forced to accept that India today is an economic and strategic power, as expressed by a writer reflecting the Chinese government's views. We don't consider anyone an opponent but there is a perception that India-China relations are not good - though we want good relations with all countries. Yes, against that perception, even our neighbouring country China accepts India's growing heft as a global power today," he said.