UK Foreign Secretary Lammy Visits India: FTA, Khalistan Issues on Agenda

New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) British Foreign Secretary David Lammy will pay a two-day visit to India beginning Wednesday in the first high-level engagement between the two sides after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government came to power.

The long-pending India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) and New Delhi's concerns over activities of pro-Khalistan elements in Britain are expected to figure in wide-ranging talks between Lammy and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday evening, people familiar with the visit said.

The British foreign secretary is also scheduled to meet Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal during which both sides are likely to reaffirm their commitment to the proposed free trade pact, they said.

It is learnt both sides have already agreed on almost 90 per cent of the trade pact but the remaining 10 per cent comprised several sticky issues such as import duties on automobiles and scotch whisky and visas for business people.

Both sides are very open to conclude the negotiations as soon as possible, the people cited above said.

The issue of the FTA figured during a phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Starmer on July 6.

The two leaders agreed to work towards early conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-UK free trade agreement, an Indian government readout said.

According to a statement issued by the UK government following the phone conversation, Starmer said he "stood ready" to conclude a deal that worked for both sides.

"Discussing the importance of the living bridge between the UK and India, and the 2030 roadmap, the leaders agreed there was a wide range of areas across defence and security, critical and emerging technology, and climate change, for the two countries to deepen cooperation on," it said.

In their talks, Jaishankar and Lammy are expected to review the implementation of the India-UK roadmap that seeks to broad-base the ties in a range of areas.

In 2021, India and the UK adopted the 10-year roadmap to expand ties in the key areas of trade and economy, defence and security, climate change and people-to-people connections, among others.

Jaishankar and Lammy are also likely to deliberate on pressing global challenges, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the situation in the Middle East.