India-UK Bilateral Relations

India’s multi-faceted bilateral relationship with the UK has developed substantially over the past few years. There have been regular and close consultations at the highest levels. Strong ties with the UK are a priority for India given our political and civilization ties, substantial economic linkages and the large community of Indian origin in the UK. The UK is an important interlocutor in the bilateral, EU, G8 and global contexts. It held the G-8 Presidency in 2005 and also the EU Presidency in the second half of 2005. The UK accords a high priority to developing ties with India.

Indo-UK Summits

Dr. Manmohan Singh visited the UK on 19-20 September 2004, his first to a western capital after he assumed office of the Prime Minister of India. The two Prime Ministers adopted a Joint Declaration titled 'India-UK: towards a new and dynamic partnership' which envisaged annual Summits, meetings between Foreign Ministers and outlined areas for future cooperation in civil nuclear energy, space, defence, combating terrorism, economic ties, science and technology, education and culture.

Prime Minister Tony Blair was the first G-8 leader to moot the idea of India joining G-8 discussions. At his invitation PM visited the UK on 7-8 July 2005 for the “G-8 Plus 5” Gleneagles Summit (India, China, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico). Prime Minister Tony Blair (PMTB) visited India on 6-8 September 2005 in his capacity as EU President for the EU/ India Summit on September 7, and also for the bilateral Summit held on September 8 in Udaipur. The two leaders exchanged views on a range of bilateral, regional and multilateral issues. The UK recognized the need for a supportive international environment for meeting India’s energy requirements and agreed to take forward cooperation with India in the civilian nuclear energy sector. PMTB reaffirmed his commitment to India’s candidature for permanent membership of the expanded UN Security Council. He expressed understanding that India was 'ringed' by a number of trouble spots and urged a regular dialogue on regional issues. The two sides agreed on the need to strengthen cooperation against terrorism. The two sides signed agreements on air services (substantially increasing direct flights between the two countries) and cooperation in the field of hydrocarbons. Two other agreements on sustainable development and films co-production were finalized. PM announced that India would found a Chair at Cambridge in honour of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. PMTB announced a £ 10 million UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI). An India-UK Business Summit was also organized simultaneously with the main Summit. PM met PMTB in St. Petersburg in July 2006 during the meeting of the Outreach Countries with G8 leaders.