MODI DEPARTS INDIA FOR STATE VISITS TO UK – Maldives is also on the visit schedule.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed today for a four-day trip to the UK and the Maldives.
India and Britain will sign a free trade agreement on Thursday (July 24) during Modi’s UK visit, officials said, with New Delhi to ease tariffs on British whisky, cars and some food items, and the UK offering duty-free access to Indian textiles and electric vehicles.
The pact, concluded in May after three years of stop-start talks, should boost bilateral trade by removing numerous barriers and granting each country greater market access to the other. It will take effect after the British parliament and India’s federal cabinet approve it, likely within a year.
This will be Modi’s fourth visit to the UK since he took office in 2014. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss trade, energy, security, health and education issues, and also hold talks with business leaders.
