Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-day visit to the United Kingdom starting Wednesday, where he will hold wide-ranging talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to further strengthen the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

This marks PM Modi’s fourth visit to the UK, following previous trips in 2015, 2018, and 2021. Over the past year, he and PM Starmer have met twice—at the G20 Summit in Rio and the G7 Summit in Canada—and maintained regular communication.

During the visit, the two leaders will review the full scope of bilateral ties, with a sharp focus on boosting trade, innovation, defence, climate cooperation, and education. Modi is also scheduled to call on King Charles III and engage with UK business leaders and the Indian diaspora.

India and the UK recorded bilateral trade of $55 billion in 2023–24. The UK is India’s sixth-largest investor, while India is a major foreign investor in the UK, with nearly 1,000 Indian companies generating $91 billion in revenue and employing close to 100,000 people.

Defence cooperation includes joint military exercises and initiatives like the electric propulsion project. The two nations also collaborate on critical technologies under the Technology-Security Initiative (TSI).

Other key areas of collaboration include green infrastructure financing, health partnerships like the co-development of a WHO-approved malaria vaccine, and expanding educational linkages under India’s new education policy.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri highlighted the 1.8 million-strong Indian diaspora in the UK as a vital “Living Bridge” strengthening ties across generations.

Since the elevation of ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021, India and the UK have developed a multifaceted and dynamic relationship spanning strategic, economic, and cultural domains.