Jaishankar, UK counterpart review Roadmap 2030, appreciate progress despite COVID constraints
Oct 22, 2021
New Delhi [India], October 22 : External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Friday met British foreign secretary Liz Truss and did a comprehensive review of the bilateral relations, which included gauging the progress of Roadmap 2030.
Both Ministers undertook a detailed review of the Roadmap 2030 launched during the India-UK Virtual Summit held on 4 May, 2021, External Affairs Ministery (EAM) said in a statement.
India and UK Roadmap 2030 aimed to elevate the India-UK relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) and this will also guide cooperation for the next 10 years covering all aspects of our multi-faceted relations.
After the meeting, the ministers appreciated the progress so far on the implementation of the Roadmap despite the constraints posed by the pandemic.
"There was detailed discussions focused on enhancing cooperation in the key priority areas of trade and investments, people-to-people relationship, health partnership, climate change, science & innovation and defence & security," said MEA.
Both Ministers welcomed the progress in delivering the Enhanced Trade Partnership announced at the Virtual Summit and underlined the need for launching FTA negotiations at the earliest, with a focus on negotiating an interim agreement that can deliver quick gains to businesses in both India and the UK.
Both Ministers also discussed the Migration and Mobility Partnership and the Global Innovation Partnership and committed to their early implementation.
They also acknowledged the establishment of new dialogue mechanisms for discussing consular issues and maritime security. Both sides also agreed on instituting the India-UK Strategic Futures Forum Track, a new 1.5 Dialogue mechanism to foster expert deliberations on long-term strategic links between the two countries.
During her stay in New Delhi, Truss also met the Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman and the Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav.
