UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to congratulate him on his third five-year term mandate following the Indian General Election results this week.
The British Indian leader, who is busy on his own campaign for the July 4 General Election hoping to win another five-year mandate for the Conservative Party from the British voters, is set to meet Modi before that at the G7 Summit in Italy, to be held between June 13 and 15.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has invited India as a guest nation for the Outreach Sessions of the summit involving the Group of Seven nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and US.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister spoke to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, this afternoon (June 5).
“The Prime Minister began by congratulating Prime Minister Modi on his election victory and wished him every success for his third term. The leaders reflected on the strength of the UK-India relationship and agreed that this will continue to grow in the future.”
Prime Minister Sunak and Modi last met at the G20 Summit, hosted by New Delhi in September last year. It marked Sunak’s first official visit to India as Britain’s first Prime Minister of Indian heritage, during which he was joined by his Indian wife – Akshata Murty.
“I have just returned from the G20 summit in India. For the record, let me declare that, as is a matter of public record, I and my family are of Indian origin, and my wife and her family are Indian citizens with financial interests in India,” Sunak told the House of Commons in his parliamentary statement after his return from New Delhi.
“I held warm and productive discussions with Prime Minister Modi on strengthening our relationship in defence, technology and a free trade deal between our nations,” he said.
The free trade agreement (FTA) has completed 13 rounds of negotiations and is now expected to resume after the UK General Election next month.
