UK PM Starmer meets Modi on first India visit
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his first visit to the country.
The two leaders met in India's financial capital Mumbai, where the prime minister is on a two-day trade mission with the largest ever delegation of more than 100 CEOs, entrepreneurs, university vice-chancellors and cultural leaders, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
Modi has called the visit "historic", with the two sides meeting to discuss ways to expand business and trade ties after India and the UK signed landmark trade deal in July.
Among the other issues discussed by the two prime ministers was the war in Ukraine.
India continues to buy Russian fossil fuels, which helps to fund Vladimir Putin's war effort.
Sir Keir said: "The prime minister and I also discussed the need for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, the need for stability and security in the Indo-Pacific, and the need to co-operate in critical areas like climate and energy, including breaking away from dependence on fossil fuels."
Modi has described himself as a friend of Putin, but suggested he wanted to see the Ukraine war come to an end through "dialogue and diplomacy".
Sir Keir also suggested he wanted India, as a "global player", to take "its rightful place" on the UN Security Council, a long-held goal of the nation.
The family of a British citizen, Jagtar Singh Johal - who has been held in an Indian prison for seven years without a conviction - have continued to call for Sir Keir to take "decisive steps" to secure the 38-year-old's release in his talks with Modi.
Ahead of the meeting, Sir Keir insisted the government is raising the detainee's case at "every level".
Similar news
