With a broader aim to elevate strategic partnership to the next level, India and the UK have firmed up a landmark technology security initiative (TSI) that sets out a bold new approach for collaboration in a range of ‘priority’ sectors including telecom, critical minerals, semiconductors and artificial intelligence. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and British counterpart David Lammy have held talks on the UK-India Technology Security Initiative. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in the discussions, both sides appreciated the ‘substantial’ progress made in the India-UK FTA negotiations and looked forward to its ‘early conclusion’ to achieve a mutually beneficial deal.
The Indian side flagged its concerns over activities of pro-Khalistan elements in the UK while the British side raised the issue of Christian Michel, the key accused in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case, who is languishing in a jail in India. In the talks, the two sides agreed to deepen defence and security cooperation, in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, and to enhance capacities to address growing threats from ‘non-state actors’.
The collaboration under TSI will include government, private sector, academia and research and development institutions. The initiative was ‘spearheaded and agreed’ by the NSAs of the two countries. The TSI seeks to build upon the ambitious cooperation agenda set out in the India-UK Roadmap 2030. Jaishankar and Lammy also discussed the migration and mobility partnership between the two countries with a view to strengthen people-to-people ties. They also discussed India-UK collaboration in the field of climate and green economy.
The two sides deliberated on regional and global issues of mutual interest, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the situation in West Asia and the Red Sea. In their talks, Jaishankar and Lammy also reviewed the implementation of the India-UK roadmap that seeks to broad-base the ties in a range of areas. In 2021, India and the UK adopted the 10-year roadmap to expand ties in the key areas of trade and economy, defence and security, climate change and people-to-people connections among others.