UK Foreign Secy meets EAM Jaishankar; key highlights of their discussion

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is on a four-day visit to India, during which he met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday. The dignitaries from both the countries held delegation-level talks to discuss various points to strengthen cooperation between India and the UK.

Jaishankar revealed that he discussed various issues with UK Foreign Secretary Raab, including defence and security, climate, health among others. They also discussed global situations, including Afghanistan, Indo-Pacific relations and such.

"The focus has been on how to take our ties to a higher level. We focused on five broad themes- connecting people, trade and prosperity, defence and security, climate change and health," the EAM said.

"We reviewed the situation in Afghanistan, the evolution of the Indo-Pacific and developments in the middle-east were among the subjects discussed. Challenges posed by terrorism & radicalism were a shared concern," he added.

India-UK relations

Jaishankar also responded to a question about free trade agreement with the UK. "I think you're comparing apples and oranges. UK wasn't part of the RCEP... our experiences on RCEP can't carry over to discussion with the UK... There's a serious intent to take trade relationship forward," the EAM was quoted as saying.

After meeting with EAM Jaishankar, Raab announced that UK PM Boris Johnson would visit India as a chief guest at the Republic Day Parade. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been invited to attend the G7 summit hosted in the UK next year.

Responding to this, Jaishankar said Johnson's acceptance of the invite symbolizes a new era in India-UK ties.