India and Britain will further strengthen security relations, British Foreign Minister David Lammy met PM Modi and Jaishankar.

After the formation of the Labour Party government in Britain, whatever little uncertainty there was regarding its relations with India ended. Britain's new Foreign Minister David Lammy, who arrived on a visit to India on Wednesday, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NSA Ajit Doval and held a bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

Announcement to start TSI

In the meeting led by Lammy-Jaishankar, it was announced to start the UK-India Technology Security Initiative (TSI). India has also signed a similar agreement with the US, which expands the scope of bilateral cooperation in the field of cutting-edge technology. It will provide a platform for strategic cooperation between the two governments, the private sector, universities, and research institutes in new areas like communications, critical minerals, semiconductors, biotech, and AI.

Students studying technology will benefit.

It is believed that this agreement will also provide new employment opportunities to students studying technology in India. Both countries are taking cooperation in the field of technology as a priority. It was agreed in the meeting on Wednesday that the foreign ministries of India and Britain will together make such arrangements that it is easy to do mutual business in critical and emerging technology. For this, license and regulatory barriers will be removed.

What was the discussion about FTA?

The Ministry of External Affairs has said that there has also been a talk between the two foreign ministers about the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and there has been an agreement to reach an agreement on it soon. Intensive talks have been going on between the two countries for three years and earlier it was also announced to reach an agreement on it by December 2023. The Labor Party had earlier opposed this agreement, but now it is fully supporting it.

What did the Ministry of External Affairs say?

Lammy and Jaishankar also previously reviewed the goals till the year 2030 to strengthen bilateral relations between India and Britain. After meeting Lamy, Prime Minister Modi welcomed his country's desire to enter into a mutually beneficial free trade agreement (FTA) and said that India is committed to strengthening its relations with Britain. The Ministry of External Affairs said that defense and security relations will be further strengthened with Britain in the context of the Indo-Pacific region.

Migration and mobility partnerships were also reviewed

Migration and mobility partnerships were also reviewed in this meeting. An agreement has been reached to create a roadmap for cooperation, especially in semiconductor and AI manufacturing. Along with this, there will be cooperation between the agencies of both countries on how to make the entire network of communication more secure. These agencies have also been selected.