PM Modi, UK PM Rishi Sunak to meet on sidelines of G-20 summit in Bali
In the first call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his new British counterpart Rishi Sunak, the leaders agreed to meet on the sidelines of the G-20 leadership summit to be held mid-November in Indonesia’s Bali.
According to a statement issued by 10 Downing Street, “The leaders also agreed to work together as two great democracies to strengthen the developing economies of the world, and looked forward to meeting in person at the G20 in Indonesia.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his best wishes on the prime minister’s appointment on behalf of 1.6 billion Indians, according to the statement.
PM Modi was one in a series of leaders who spoke with the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday. While both exchanged greetings personally, there were interpreters who sat through the conversation that took place between the two leaders.
PM Modi emphasised the need for an early conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two sides, which was expected to be done by Diwali by the previous administration but took a backseat after the political maelstrom that England witnessed in the past couple of months.
After his conversation with Prime Minister Sunak, PM Modi tweeted, “Glad to speak to Rishi Sunak today. Congratulated him on assuming charge as UK PM.”
He added, “We will work together to further strengthen our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. We also agreed on the importance of early conclusion of a comprehensive and balanced FTA.”
“The prime minister hoped the UK and India could continue to make good progress in negotiations to finalise a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement,” said the statement issued by 10 Downing Street.
In response to PM Modi’s tweet, Rishi Sunak thanked the Indian prime minister for his “kind words” as he was getting started in his “new role”.
“The UK and India share so much. I’m excited about what our two great democracies can achieve as we deepen our security, defence and economic partnership in the months & years ahead,” Prime Minister Sunak wrote in his tweet.
“Discussing shared global challenges, the Prime Minister praised Prime Minister Modi’s leadership on tackling climate change and the leaders welcomed opportunities to bolster our security, defence and economic partnership,” said a statement by the UK Prime Minister’s office.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that he was a visual representation of the historic links between the UK and India, and intended to build on this relationship to develop ever closer ties between the two countries.