ET NEWS

Keir Starmer, who has just embarked on a keenly-watched India visit, has been accompanied by more than 100 business leaders from Britain. According to some reports, this is the largest-ever trade mission from the UK to India.The stated aim of the delegation is to boost the 2025 Free Trade Deal between India and UK, with a target taking bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030. The UK Prime Minister arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday ahead of his scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Starmer, along with his delegation, was received at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, and Governor Acharya Devvrat.The two leaders are set to meet in Mumbai on Thursday to advance the India–UK strategic partnership. Their agenda includes participation in the CEO Forum and the sixth edition of the Global Fintech Fest.Modi and Starmer are expected to review the progress of the India–UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, guided by the ‘Vision 2035’ roadmap. Discussions will cover key sectors such as trade and investment, technology and innovation, defence and security, climate and energy, health, education, and cultural exchange.A central focus of the talks will be the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), seen as a cornerstone of the evolving economic relationship between the two nations. The leaders will also exchange perspectives on regional and global developments and interact with business leaders, policymakers, and innovators to explore new avenues of cooperation.

Britain will not pursue a visa deal with India, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, as he aims to deepen economic ties with the country following this year's trade agreement. Starmer begins a two-day trip to India on Wednesday, bringing a trade mission of businesses to promote the trade deal, which was agreed in May, signed in July and due to come into effect next year. Starmer said that visas had blocked up previous efforts to seal a trade deal, and that, having reached an agreement which had no visa implications, he didn't wish to revisit the issue when he meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for talks on Thursday. "That isn't part of the plans," he told reporters en route to India when asked about visas, adding the visit was "to take advantage of the free trade agreement that we've already struck". "Businesses are taking advantage of that. But the issue is not about visas." Starmer is trying to take a more restrictive stance on both immigration amid high public concern about the issue, as his Labour Party trails the populist Reform UK party in polls. He said visas would not be on the table in order to attract tech sector professionals from India, after U.S. President Donald Trump hiked fees on H-1B visas, though he said more broadly he wanted to have "top talent" in Britain. Asked if he would stop issuing visas to arrivals from countries who won't take back foreign criminals or people wanted to deport, Starmer said it was a "non-issue" with India as there is a returns agreement, but it was something he would look at more broadly. "We are looking at whether there should be a link between visas and returns agreements," he said.