New Delhi: Amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held talks with his British counterpart Liz Truss. The British foreign minister's trip coincides with Russia's Sergei Lavrov's visit to India. External Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar, held bilateral consultations with the visiting Minister and conducted the annual strategic review of the Roadmap 2030 agreed between the Prime Ministers during the India-UK Virtual Summit 2021.
In her opening comments, Truss said it is important to respect the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law. The two Ministers expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved so far and agreed to further intensify efforts to deliver results in priority areas of trade and investments, defence and security, migration and mobility, education, S&T, climate cooperation and green energy.
Read: UK Foreign Secy in India for diplomatic push over Russia-Ukraine war
Both sides appreciated the substantial progress made in the India-UK FTA negotiations with two productive rounds already completed since their launch in January 2022. The two sides also discussed the implementation of the Migration and Mobility Partnership which has the potential to bring the people of both countries even closer. They also discussed the modalities of instituting the Strategic Tech Dialogue to enhance cooperation on new and emerging strategic technologies like 5G, AI and quantum.
The two Ministers agreed to resolve legacy issues and deepen defence and security cooperation including in defence co-development and co-production, and enhance capacities to address growing threats in the cyber, space and maritime domains. India welcomed the UK’s interest in participating in its national defence manufacturing programme through Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat. They agreed to consult intensively on this.
Read: Defence ties, reducing Russian dependence focus of UK minister's India visit
They emphasised the need to retain a strategic focus on the Indo-Pacific region and in this context, India welcomed the readiness of the UK side in undertaking activities under the Maritime Security Pillar of the Indo-Pacific Ocean’s Initiative (IPOI). IPOI is an open, inclusive, non-treaty based, global initiative that was announced by Prime Minister Modi at the 14th East Asia Summit in November 2019 to promote collaborative efforts among like-minded nations to better manage, conserve, sustain and secure the Indo-Pacific maritime domain.
The Ministers also had the opportunity to exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. In Ukraine, India reiterated that the immediate cessation of violence and return to dialogue and diplomacy is the key to long term peace in the region. In Afghanistan, both sides highlighted the need for Afghanistan to have unhindered access to humanitarian assistance and that Afghan territory is not used by terror outfits for destabilising the region. Iran and JCPOA were also featured in the talks. They also discussed matters related to the Commonwealth and the UN Security Council.
Both Ministers also participated in the inaugural edition of the India-UK Strategic Futures Forum, a new 1.5 Dialogue mechanism for expert deliberations on long term strategic links and expanding the horizons of our bilateral cooperation. During her visit, UK Foreign Secretary also met with Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser. According to the British High Commission statement, Truss is urging Delhi to work with other democracies to counter Russia's invasion of Ukraine, by reducing its dependence on Moscow.
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