Rajnath Singh Concludes UK Go to After ‘Heat Assembly’ With PM Rishi Sunak

LONDON, Jan 11: Refence Minister Rajnath Singh concluded his go to to the UK on Thursday after a ”heat assembly” with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and interacting with members of the Indian diaspora at a group reception.
Singh referred to as on Prime Minister Sunak at 10 Downing Road right here on Wednesday night for discussions on a variety of points throughout bilateral defence and financial ties. He additionally gifted a Ram Darbar statue to Sunak, Britain’s first Hindu Prime Minister, through the assembly additionally attended by UK Nationwide Safety Adviser (NSA) Sir Tim Barrow.
”Had a really heat assembly with the UK Prime Minister, Shri Rishi Sunak in London,” Rajnath Singh mentioned in a press release on social media.
”I had the chance to debate a variety of points with him. We mentioned points pertaining to defence, financial cooperation and the way India and the UK might work collectively for strengthening a peaceable and steady international rules-based order,” he mentioned.
In response to the Indian Ministry of Defence readout of the assembly, Sunak agreed with the minister on the necessity for the UK and India to work in tandem and expressed hope that the continuing free commerce settlement (FTA) negotiations might be dropped at a profitable conclusion quickly. India and the UK are at present holding the 14th spherical of FTA negotiations with the purpose of considerably enhancing the annual GBP 36-billion bilateral partnership.
Sunak is alleged to have additionally underlined his keenness, and that of his authorities, to strengthen the defence and safety pillar of the bilateral relationship, together with by way of authorities backing for stronger enterprise and know-how partnerships with Indian counterpart entities. In the meantime, Singh briefed Sunak about his “constructive interactions” with the UK defence trade and the “new constructive power” within the bilateral defence relationship throughout his tour of the UK, the primary by an Indian Defence Minister in 22 years.
He additionally met with UK Overseas Secretary David Cameron on the Overseas, Commonwealth and Improvement Workplace and mirrored on the brand new momentum and path of the India-UK partnership, symbolised by intense engagements at varied ranges.

Singh ”outlined his aim of integrating defence industries of each international locations together with by way of provide chain integration to construct resilience. He additionally emphasised the significance of bilateral start-up degree interplay, and identification and dialogue of joint tasks which India and UK might implement collectively,” the Ministry of Defence mentioned.
Cameron reiterated the UK authorities’s need to collaborate with India within the defence areas, notably within the discipline of defence industrial collaboration, as one of many means by which the UK hopes to strengthen the assist for a rule-based worldwide order.
In a while Wednesday night, Singh interacted with almost 200 individuals of Indian origin at a group reception organised by the Excessive Fee of India in London. Indian navy ex-servicemen and members of the family of World Warfare II veterans have been additionally current on the occasion, throughout which the minister addressed the gathering to apprise them of the quick tempo of development and growth underway in India.
”It’s projected that by 2075-2080, India would be the No. 1 nation when it comes to financial rating. That is the picture of India in the present day due to the quick tempo of development,” mentioned Singh in an tackle to the gathering in Hindi, which was later briefly summarised by Indian Excessive Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami in English.
Singh additionally shared elements of a current article within the ‘World Occasions’, a Chinese language authorities publication, entitled ‘What I really feel concerning the Bharat Narrative in India’ by Zhang Jiadong.
”Even the Chinese language authorities has been compelled to simply accept that India in the present day is an financial and strategic energy, as expressed by a author reflecting the Chinese language authorities’s views. We don’t think about anybody an opponent however there’s a notion that India-China relations usually are not good – although we would like good relations with all international locations. Sure, in opposition to that notion, even our neighbouring nation China accepts India’s rising heft as a world energy in the present day,” he mentioned.
The minister’s packed schedule through the three-day go to lined bilateral talks and co-chairing a UK-India Defence Trade CEOs Roundtable along with his UK counterpart, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps. Singh was greeted with a ceremonial Guard of Honour in London and went on to clinch two agreements: an MoU on conduct of bilateral worldwide cadet change programme, and a Letter of Association between Defence Analysis and Improvement Organisation (DRDO) and UK’s Defence Science and Know-how Laboratory (DSTL) on defence collaboration in analysis and growth. (Companies)