UK visit aimed at strengthening ties with traditional friend: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a three-day visit to Britain, beginning Thursday, with a focus on ramping up trade and investment and deepening ties in defence, security and energy sectors, besides stepping up cooperation in combating terrorism and extremism.

Ahead of the visit, the Prime Minister exuded confidence that his trip will deepen bilateral ties in a range of areas with a particular focus on expanding economic and defence cooperation.

Modi will have lunch with Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace – an honour usually only accorded to the heads of state, and deliver an address at the British Parliament. He will also address a reception at the Wembley Stadium, expected to be attended by around 60,000 people.

The PM will have wide-ranging talks with his counterpart David Cameron and both sides are likely to sign a number of pacts, besides issuing an “outcome document” and separate statements on defence, security and on energy security.

“My visit is aimed at strengthening cooperation with a traditional friend that is not only a major economic partner of India, but also one of the leading economic players of the world. India and the UK are two vibrant democracies, which are proud of their diversity and multicultural societies,” Modi said in a Facebook post.

The two leaders will meet in London and then at Chequers, where Modi will stay, a first for an Indian Prime Minister.

Cameron had visited India thrice as PM and he and Modi had bilateral talks during G-20 summit in Brisbane last year and in New York recently on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said reviving Indian economy will be one of the major aspects of the visit and the Prime Minister will interact with CEOs at a roundtable in London. 

Modi will visit Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover factory at Solihull.