Indian, UK Prime Ministers Discuss Bilateral Relations, Defense, Trade - Foreign Ministry

(@FahadShabbir)

Indian, UK Prime Ministers Discuss Bilateral Relations, Defense, Trade - Foreign Ministry

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed bilateral relations, free trade negotiations and defense cooperation between New Delhi and London with newly-appointed UK Prime Minister Liz Truss in a phone call on Saturday, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th September, 2022) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed bilateral relations, free trade negotiations and defense cooperation between New Delhi and London with newly-appointed UK Prime Minister Liz Truss in a phone call on Saturday, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said.

"The two leaders discussed various issues of bilateral interest including the progress in the implementation of the Roadmap 2030, ongoing FTA (Free Trade Agreement) negotiations, defence & security cooperation, and the people-to-people ties between both countries," the ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, Modi also congratulated Truss on becoming the UK prime minister and conveyed his condolences to the Royal family and UK citizens on the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

On Tuesday, Truss became the new Tory head and UK prime minister, succeeding Boris Johnson.

On Thursday evening, Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled the Kingdom for more than 70 years, died at Balmoral castle in Scotland at the age of 96. Her eldest son, Charles III, was officially proclaimed King at 09:00 GMT on Saturday, with his wife Camilla becoming Queen Consort.

India and the UK launched official negotiations on the free trade agreement in January. In late April, Modi said that the countries made good progress in developing the agreement and seek to sign it before the end of 2022.