UK and India to bolster economic and migration ties as Foreign Secretary delivers on Plan for Change during visit
Source: gov.uk (2025-06-06)

Bolstering economic and migration ties and delivering further growth opportunities for British businesses are set to be at the top of the Foreign Secretary’s visit to India this weekend.

- talks with the Indian Government to deepen and diversify the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the 2 countries to deliver for working people in the UK
- comes after historic Free Trade Agreement was agreed between the UK and India set to increase trade by more than £25 billion every year
- Foreign Secretary will meet with Prime Minister Modi on his second visit to India to discuss ongoing economic and migration partnership
Bolstering economic and migration ties and delivering further growth opportunities for British businesses are set to be at the top of the Foreign Secretary’s visit to India this weekend.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy will travel to New Delhi to further advance an ambitious UK-India relationship during talks with the Indian Government, including Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, alongside government officials.

The visit follows the historic Free Trade Agreement agreed between the 2 countries (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-india-free-trade-deal-a-deal-for-growth) and will deliver on this government’s commitment to boost jobs and prosperity back in the UK, as part of the government’s Plan for Change (https://www.gov.uk/missions). The new deal with India is expected to increase bilateral trade by over £25 billion every year, UK GDP by £4.8 billion, and wages by £2.2 billion each year in the long run, putting money back in the pockets of working people.

The Foreign Secretary will also welcome progress in our migration partnership, including ongoing work on safeguarding citizens and securing borders in both countries. Addressing migration remains a top priority for the government – the Foreign Secretary is focused on working internationally with global partners to secure the UK’s borders at home.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:

India was one of my first visits as Foreign Secretary, and since then has been a key partner in the delivery of our Plan for Change. Our relationship has gone from strength to strength – securing our future technologies, adding over £25 billion in trade every year between our countries and deepening the strong links between our cultures and people.

Signing a free trade agreement is just the start of our ambitions – we’re building a modern partnership with India for a new global era. We want to go even further to foster an even closer relationship and cooperate when it comes to delivering growth, fostering innovative technology, tackling the climate crisis and delivering our migration priorities, and providing greater security for our people.

The Foreign Secretary will also meet with leading figures in Indian business to discuss how we can unlock even greater investment by Indian business in the UK. Our investment relationship supports over 600,000 jobs across both countries, with over 950 Indian-owned companies in the UK and over 650 UK companies in India. In 2023 to 2024, India was the UK’s second largest source of investments in terms of number of projects for the fifth consecutive year.

Talks will also take stock of progress, following a commitment by the UK and Indian Prime Ministers to take forward an ambitious UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The trade deal is a key example of the progress being made since the last meeting between the Foreign Secretary and his Indian counterpart. It follows the signing of the UK-India Programme of Cultural Cooperation Agreement in May and £400 million of trade and investment wins boosting the British and the Indian economy at the Economic and Financial Dialogue in April.

The Foreign Secretary is also expected to address the recent escalation in tensions following the Pahalgam terrorist attack and how the welcomed sustained period of peace can be best supported in the interests of stability in the region.

The visit comes as some of India’s top business leaders endorsed the trade deal which will increase opportunities for trade and investment between the UK and India. It also comes ahead of the launch of the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy, which will make it quicker, easier and cheaper to do business in the UK.

Background
- on 2 May, the UK and India signed a new UK-India Programme of Cultural Cooperation (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/memorandum-of-understanding-between-the-uk-and-india-on-cultural-cooperation) to boost collaboration across the arts and culture, creative industries, tourism and sport sectors. The agreement will open the door for increased UK creative exports to India and enable more partnerships between UK and Indian museums and cultural institutions, helping to grow UK soft power
- at the 13th UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) in April (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-india-13th-economic-and-financial-dialogue-joint-statement), Chancellor Rachel Reeves welcomed £400 million of trade and investment wins set to boost the British and the Indian economy and deliver economic growth and security for working people
- David Lammy travelled to India on his first official visit as Foreign Secretary in July last year (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-travels-to-india-to-cement-stronger-partnership-on-tech-climate-and-growth), when he announced the landmark UK-India Technology Security Initiative. The initiative is delivering crucial collaboration on telecoms security and unlocking investment across emerging technologies – telecoms, critical minerals, AI, quantum, health/bio tech, advanced materials and semiconductors
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