Overview

• On a two-day visit to Mumbai, the UK prime minister urged implementation of the July trade pact “as quickly as humanly possible.”
• He is joined by about 125 business and academic leaders, including 14 university vice-chancellors, in what local reports call the largest UK delegation to India in decades.
• Starmer will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with both sides signaling a goal of ratifying the agreement and bringing it into effect within about a year.
• The signed deal cuts tariffs across sectors such as textiles, whisky and cars, expands market access, and is projected to lift bilateral trade by about £25.5 billion by 2040.
• He said visas played no part in the trade agreement, discouraged plans to bring more Indian students to Britain, pledged to raise the Jagtar Singh Johal case, and deflected on India’s Russian oil purchases by citing UK concerns over the shadow tanker fleet.