PM meets Starmer, takes up return of economic offenders hiding in UK
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met his British counterpart Keir Starmer and took up the issue of Indian economic offenders whose extradition is awaited from the UK.
The Modi-Starmer meet was among the seven separate bilateral meetings held on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brazil since Monday.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said, “Prime Minister Modi noted the importance of addressing the issue of economic offenders from India in the UK.”
Though the statement did not name anyone, India is seeking extradition of Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Sanjay Bhandari from the UK. The three are facing cases in India.
Modi and Starmer also agreed on the need to make progress on the issues related to migration and mobility of people between the two countries.
PM Modi also announced establishment of two new Consulates General of India in Belfast and Manchester in the UK. The two leaders recognised opportunities for further engagement between the two sides in light of growing bilateral economic and business relations.
Modi and Starmer also spoke about the importance of resuming the Free Trade Agreement negotiations at an early date.
On Monday, the PM met French President Emmanuel Macron, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Store, Prime Minister of Portugal Luís Montenegro and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Today Modi had a bilateral with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Modi assured full support to the “Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty” initiative launched yesterday. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Discussions focused on exploring opportunities for greater cooperation in renewable energy, biofuels, defence, agriculture, healthcare and digital technology.”
During their meeting, Modi and Macron commended the strengthening of trade, investment and technology ties, including in the areas of digital technology and artificial intelligence, as well as partnership on digital public infrastructure.
In another bilateral, Modi and Montenegro noted that the year 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Portugal. They agreed to jointly celebrate the occasion in a befitting manner.
With Indonesia, the issue of close collaboration within the G20 was discussed. The two sides called for giving primacy to the concerns of the ‘Global South’.
Free Trade Agreement talks soon
During their meeting, PM Narendra Modi and his British counterpart spoke about the importance of resuming the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations at an early date
