British prime minister arrives in India for 2-day visit

ANKARA

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in India early Wednesday for a two-day visit, said officials.

Starmer, making his first official visit to the country, is being accompanied in the financial capital Mumbai by a 125-member delegation from the UK, the largest ever government trade mission to India.

“This visit marks a new chapter in our strong & dynamic India-UK partnership,” Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said on the US social media company X’s platform, posting photos of Starmer’s arrival.

The Indian government said in a statement that Starmer will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discuss diverse aspects of the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership as well as "issues of regional and global importance.”

Ahead of Starmer’s arrival, a statement by the UK said that “125 of the UK’s most prominent CEOs, leading entrepreneurs, university Vice Chancellors and cultural institutions will join the Prime Minister on a trade mission to India this week in pursuit of growth and jobs at home.”

“Following the signature of the landmark UK-India trade deal in July, which will lower tariffs on British goods being imported into India, the door is now open for British businesses to turbocharge their trade with one of the fastest growing economies in the world,” the statement said.