DEFENCE Minister Rajnath Singh concluded his visit to the UK on Thursday after a “warm meeting” with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and interacting with members of the Indian diaspora at a community reception. Singh called on Prime Minister Sunak at 10 Downing Street here on Wednesday evening for discussions on a wide range of issues across bilateral defence and economic ties. He also gifted a Ram Darbar statue to Sunak, Britain’s first Hindu Prime Minister, during the meeting also attended by UK National Security Adviser (NSA) Sir Tim Barrow.

 

“Had a very warm meeting with the UK Prime Minister, Shri Rishi Sunak in London,” Rajnath Singh said in a statement on social media. “I had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues with him. We discussed issues pertaining to defence, economic cooperation and how India and the UK could work together for strengthening a peaceful and stable global rules-based order,” he said. According to the Indian Ministry of Defence readout of the meeting, Sunak agreed with the minister on the need for the UK and India to work in tandem and expressed hope that the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations could be brought to a successful conclusion soon.