PM Modi Holds Bilateral Meeting With Rishi Sunak, Calls It A 'Very Fruitful One'

PM Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak are in Japan's Hiroshima to attend the G7 summit.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a bilateral meeting with his British counterpart Rishi Sunak and called it a 'very fruitful one'. The two leaders, who are in Japan's Hiroshima to attend the G7 summit, discussed boosting cooperation in trade, innovation, science, and other such sectors.

"The meeting with PM Rishi Sunak was a very fruitful one," PM Narendra Modi said in a tweet and shared pictures with the UK PM.

The meeting with PM @RishiSunak was a very fruitful one. We discussed boosting cooperation in trade, innovation, science and other such sectors. 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 notable that India and the UK have been negotiating an FTA since January last year, with a goal towards a comprehensive pact that is expected to significantly enhance the bilateral trading relationship worth an estimated 34 billion pounds in 2022. The two nations last month concluded the ninth round of India-UK FTA negotiations with detailed discussions across a range of policy areas.

During the bilateral meeting, PM Modi and Sunak also agreed to deepen cooperation across a wide range of areas, such as trade and investment, science and technology, higher education, and people-to-people relationship.

The two leaders, who earlier met on the sidelines of the G7 summit in the Japanese city on Saturday, also discussed India's ongoing G-20 Presidency.

"Prime Minister looked forward to welcoming Prime Minister Sunak in 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 at the G7 summit following an invitation by Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.