Namaskar doston. Prime Minister Modi, it was an honour for me to host you in the United Kingdom in July at Chequers, and I am so delighted to be making this return visit just a few short months later. And can I just extend my thanks to the very warm welcome that you and the whole country extended to me as Prime Minister, to the whole delegation and through us, to the whole of the United Kingdom.
It is very much appreciated, very much noticed, and it is an important statement as we stand here, about our shared commitment to this special relationship. Because we are building something here, we are creating a new, modern partnership focused on the future and on winning the opportunities that it offers, and we’re doing it together. And that’s why we struck the UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement in July. A breakthrough moment, years in the making. Slashing tariffs, increasing access to each other’s markets to drive growth and create jobs for our people and making life better in both of our nations.
Beyond the words on the page of the agreement is the spirit and the confidence that that has given to our two great countries to work even more closely together, something which we’ve seen evidence during the course of this visit here over the last two days.
It is significant that we’re meeting here in Mumbai as India’s economic and financial capital, because India’s growth story is remarkable. I want to congratulate the Prime Minister on his leadership, aiming to be the world’s third largest economy by 2028. And your vision of Viksit Bharat is a completely developed country by 2047, and everything I’ve seen since I’ve been here is absolute proof to me that you’re on track to succeeding in that. So we want to be partners on that journey, and my visit this week is about doubling down on the potential of our trade deal for the benefit of all of us, and that’s why I brought a record 126 British businesses with me to India this week. We had to get a bigger plane to travel over here than the one we planned, but that delegation is some of our biggest, most iconic businesses, and smaller and medium sized businesses, but also leaders from education, some of whom are with us here, and sport and the arts.
As I say, our largest trade delegation for a decade, and so my first as Prime Minister, so of course, the destination for that had to be here, had to be India. Later today, the Prime Minister and I will convene a renewed CEO forum, and that was much discussed yesterday as a direct channel for business. There was a real buzz in the room yesterday that this forum is going to have real life breathed into it to embody the agreement that we’ve already reached to ensure that the deal does deliver the opportunities that we want to see. And we are committed to that, and when we leave India later on tonight I expect that we will have secured major new investments creating thousands of high-skilled jobs in the sectors of the future for both of our nations.
The UK and India stand side by side as global leaders in tech and innovation, and so we’ve also taken the opportunity to deepen our cooperation through our Technology Security Initiative with new commitments on AI, advanced communication, defence technologies and much, much more. We’re announcing a deal to make Bollywood films in the United Kingdom after a fantastic visit to the studio yesterday. And we’re deepening our cooperation in education as we’ve evidenced here on the film and with the people that we have in the room. It is the younger generation in India who will lead the charge to deliver on that 2047 target. The demand for the best quality higher education is very high, so I’m really pleased that we’re announcing today that all British universities will be setting up campuses right here in India, making Britain India’s leading international provider of higher education and delivering on our Vision 2035 that we set out in July.
These incredible economic bonds are the jewel in the crown of this relationship, but of course, our cooperation goes much wider too, and so we’ve had the opportunity to discuss issues of vital importance to global stability and security, including the situation in the Middle East. I strongly welcome the news that a deal has been reached on the first stage of the peace plan in Gaza. This is a moment of profound relief that we felt around the world, but particularly for the hostages, their families and for the civilian population of Gaza who have all endured unimaginable suffering over the last two years. I’m grateful for the tireless diplomatic efforts of Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, United States and many others in securing this crucial first step.
This agreement must now be implemented in full, without delay and be accompanied by the immediate lifting of all restrictions on life saving humanitarian aid to Gaza. The UK will support these crucial immediate steps and the next stages of the talks to ensure the full implementation of the peace plan.
The Prime Minister and I also discussed the need for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, the need for stability and security in the Indo-Pacific, and the need to cooperate in critical areas like climate and energy, including breaking away from dependence on fossil fuels.
India is a global player. We sit together in the Commonwealth, the G20, and we want to see India taking its rightful place on the UN Security Council too, so we are committed to strengthening our strategic partnership and in fact has already been mentioned, our carrier strike group is, is here in India right now exercising with the Indian Navy, showing the strength of that relationship on defence and security which we’ve discussed this morning we want to take even further.
And look, the whole thing, this particular partnership, goes much deeper because in the end it is about people. The human connections between India and the UK are unique, forming what Prime Minister Modi has called the living bridge between our two countries. A bridge between people, a bridge between hearts, and in that spirit Prime Minister, I want to express my deepest sympathies to all the victims of the Air India crash earlier this year. A terrible day and a tragedy for both of our nations, and it showed, frankly, that we are family.
And I am proud this week that we are taking this incredible partnership between our two nations and making it stronger than ever for working people on both sides of that bridge. Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity, as we enter the festive period, to wish the people of India joy and happiness and a very happy Diwali. Diwali ki shubhkamnayein. Thank you.
