New Delhi: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to visit India in October, in what will be his first official visit to the country since assuming power in July last year, ThePrint has learnt. Starmer is likely to make an appearance at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2025 in Mumbai, apart from holding bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sources told ThePrint the visit is likely to occur at the end of the first week of October. The GFF in Mumbai is scheduled for 7 to 9 October, with Modi confirmed in attendance, according to the organisation’s website.
The British Prime Minister’s visit comes soon after the two countries signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in July this year. The India-UK FTA is the first agreement announced by New Delhi as it continues to negotiate similar agreements with other Western countries, including the US and the European Union (EU).
With the trade negotiations concluded, both leaders are likely to focus on other strategic areas of cooperation, including defence and education. New Delhi and London announced the Technology Security Initiative (TSI) in July 2024, aimed at deepening the partnership in areas such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, advanced materials and semiconductors. The TSI is a mechanism led by the National Security Advisers of the two countries.
Apart from defence and strategic issues, education is also expected to feature on the agenda. Several British universities are keen to expand their footprint with campuses in India. The University of Southampton operationalised its campus in Gurugram in July this year, while the University of Liverpool is set to open its doors in Bengaluru next year.
The signing of the India-UK FTA is significant as it is New Delhi’s first such bilateral trade deal with a Western country. The agreement would benefit exporters in sectors such as agriculture, marine products, plastics, chemicals and engineering goods. Once operationalised, the FTA would reduce the average tariffs imposed by the British government on Indian goods from the current 15 per cent to around 3 per cent.
Trade is expected to grow annually by around $33 billion, according to data released by the UK. The deal comes amid India’s ongoing struggles to complete a trade pact with the US – its largest export market. Indian exporters face tariffs of up to 50 per cent in a number of sectors since the end of last month.
In addition to high tariffs, US President Donald J. Trump has also taken aim at two other areas of concern for New Delhi: H-1B visas and the removal of the sanctions waiver on the use of the port of Chabahar in Iran by Indian companies.
Amid these irritants, Prime Minister Modi and Trump held a telephonic discussion last week when the American President conveyed his wishes to the Indian leader on his 75th birthday. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is set to meet his American counterpart Marco Rubio Monday on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The proposed imposition of a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas is significant for the mobility of skilled Indian workers.
Along with the FTA, New Delhi and London also agreed to a Double Contribution Convention, which would exempt Indian workers and employers in the UK from social security contributions for three years. The agreement is set to save Indian employers around Rs 4,000 crore.
(Edited by Shashank Kishan)
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