- Tuesday, April 30, 2024
By: Radhakrishna N S
By Rithika Siddhartha
BRITISH INDIAN ties are “under leveraged” for the benefit of both sides and there is a real focus in the UK on the Indo-Pacific region, a senior minister said as he embarked on a visit to the south Asian country.
Lord Tariq Ahmad is the minister for south Asia and the Commonwealth at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). He began a visit to India this week, the fourth by a senior British minister in as many months to the country. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab was in India at the end of December; trade secretary Liz Truss visited in February and Alok Sharma, president for COP 26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, was there just a few weeks ago.
In an interview with Eastern Eye on the eve of his travel to India, Lord Ahmad acknowledged the growing importance of India to the UK and the “renewed vigour” for engagement between the countries. “I fully acknowledge there is the change.
“Both India and the United Kingdom recognise the importance of the relationship bilaterally, but also in the wider context of the international community,” Lord Ahmad said last Friday (12).
“There is a real focus on the Indo Pacific region, where you see issues of growth, of opportunities. It presents a huge opportunity to strengthen the United Kingdom’s position and relationships with countries in that region.”
According to the minister, Britain recognises India as an important partner, and the latter’s role on the global stage, where he expressed the hope for more opportunities for cooperation.
“With India now joining the UN Security Council from January, we’re looking forward to working with each other, specifically on matters of common interests.
“We recognise and welcome India’s role within the multilateral system. As minister also of the United Nations and the Commonwealth, I am very much engaged on strengthening our multilateral cooperation.”
“We’ve got huge opportunities. I’ve always felt very strongly that this relationship is under leveraged for the benefit of both countries, for both people.
“And the renewed engagements, the vigour… this isn’t just about saying how important India is. The fact is that we’re visiting, engaging and talking, and indeed, deliberating and cooperating on the whole raft of different issues.
“There’s a 10-year agreed plan going forward between two prime ministers who are both enthused about it. And as India’s prime minister Narendra Modi says, there is a real living bridge. Well, that living bridge is now very much been brought to life, and we want to engage and strengthen that bridge further.”
India’s prime minister is expected to attend the G7 summit in the UK in June, with world leaders discussing the economy and climate change, among other issues. UK prime minister Boris Johnson was scheduled to visit India as a guest for the Republic Day parade in January, but was forced to defer it due to the coronavirus pandemic in the UK. On Tuesday (16), it emerged the prime minister will make that visit at the end of next month.
Lord Ahmad noted the “substantive increase in our ministerial engagement”.
“It’s a really transformational relationship,” he said.
He arrived in Delhi for talks with his counterparts in the Ministry of External Affairs, including foreign minister S Jaishankar. Lord Ahmad revealed he was scheduled to visit Chandigarh in north India, Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad and Mumbai before he heads back to the UK.
It is likely both sides will discuss the farmers’ protests taking place just outside Delhi. There has been a discussion involving UK MPs and the matter was also raised in the Commons. India last week summoned British High Commissioner Alex Ellis after a discussion prompted by a petition that took place in the Houses of Parliament.
Lord Ahmad clarified the view of the UK government, saying resolving the protest was a matter for India. “I’ve spoken directly to Gaitri Kumar, the High Commissioner of India with whom I have an excellent relationship,” he said.
“Our new high commissioner met foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla; there was a cordial meeting. India, of course, expressed its concerns over the debate.
“The (UK) parliamentary schedule, the nature of these debates is not something the (UK) government controls, whether they’re backbench debates, or in this case, the petition which sparked the debate. What we do control, as I mentioned to both high commissioner here in London, as did Alex Ellis, to foreign secretary Shringla was the importance of the government message.
“Yes, of course, there is a lot of parliamentary interest (in the UK). And we have a robust parliamentary system, which challenges us as government in terms of accountability.
“We are very clear when it comes to the issues of the kisan, the farmers’ protest, what we’ve seen from the Indian government is a response which has allowed peaceful protests to take place. There are unfortunate incidents which happen around protests. And in that regard, again, they’ve sought to handle that in a manner reflective of what a democracy should do – allow for peaceful protest.
“Those who disrupt them, they should be dealt with justice, and according to the law of the land. But equally, we are clear this is an internal matter for the Government of India. And that point was both made clear and accepted.”
