Modi, UK’s Burnham pledge to take ties to new heights

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Andy Burnham on Friday vowed to take the India-UK comprehensive strategic partnership to “new heights” and fully harness the trade and investment opportunities presented by the recently operationalised bilateral trade deal. Modi and Burnham discussed key aspects of the two-way ties during a phone conversation.

In a social media post, Modi said he congratulated Burnham on assuming the charge of the top office and conveyed his best wishes for a successful tenure.

“We agreed to work together across sectors such as technology, innovation, defence, security, clean energy, education and people-to-people ties and take the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to new heights,” he said.

“We will also collaborate closely to fully harness the trade and investment opportunities presented by the recently operationalized India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, for the shared prosperity and well-being of both our people,” Modi said.

A British readout said Burnham began the conversation by reflecting on the strength of the UK-India partnership and the significant impact it has had on local communities across the UK.

“The prime minister set out his ambitions to further enhance the UK-India relationship, including through the UK-India Vision 2035 framework and strong people-to-people links,” it said.

Burnham praised the contribution Indian communities in the UK make to the fabric of UK society, with Modi noting the links between the two leaders’ own home cities of Manchester and Ahmedabad, in Gujarat, which he called the “Manchester of India”, it said.

Turning to trade, Modi underlined the value of the recently introduced free trade agreement, which will create opportunities for people across both countries, it added.