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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a bilateral meeting with his British counterpart Rishi Sunak and termed it as “extremely fruitful”. The two leaders, who are in Hiroshima, Japan to attend the G7 summit, discussed expanding cooperation in trade, innovation, science and other such areas.
PM Narendra Modi said in a tweet, “The meeting with PM Rishi Sunak was very fruitful.”
met PM @rishi sunak One was very fruitful. We discussed expanding cooperation in trade, innovation, science and other such areas. pic.twitter.com/FI9nI1gc9V— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 21, 2023
According to Prime Minister Modi’s office, the two leaders reviewed their comprehensive strategic partnership, including taking stock of progress in India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.
It is noteworthy that India and the UK have been negotiating an FTA since January last year, aiming towards a comprehensive agreement, which is expected to significantly increase bilateral trade ties to an estimated £34 billion in 2022. The two countries concluded last month. With a detailed discussion of the policy areas in the ninth round of India-UK FTA talks.
During the bilateral meeting, Prime Minister Modi and Sunak also agreed to deepen cooperation in a wide range of areas such as trade and investment, science and technology, higher education, and people-to-people relations.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the G7 summit in the Japanese city on Saturday and also discussed India’s current G-20 chairmanship.
“The Prime Minister looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister Sunak to New Delhi for the G-20 Summit,” Modi’s office said in an official statement.
Earlier on Saturday, Modi met Indonesian President Joko Widodo and UN chief Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the G7 summit. He also held talks with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh and met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Modi arrived in Hiroshima on Friday to attend three sessions of the G7 summit following an invitation from his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.
