UK to relaunch trade talks with India, seeks 'new strategic partnership'

Britain will restart talks with India on a free trade deal in the new year, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said on Monday, following a months-long pause in negotiations due to elections in both countries, Report informs via Reuters.

London will seek a "new strategic partnership" with India as well as deepening co-operation in areas like security, education, technology, and climate change, Starmer's office said after he met his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, at the G20 summit in Brazil.

"A new trade deal with India will support jobs and prosperity in the UK," Starmer, whose Labour Party was elected to power in July, said.

The British leader also met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the summit in Rio de Janeiro, calling on him to establish "consistent, durable" relations between their two nations and saying he would like to engage on areas such as trade, the economy and climate.

Starmer has pledged to secure the fastest sustained economic growth for Britain among the Group of Seven countries. The Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development has predicted that British growth in 2025 would be the lowest of the G7.