PM to visit UK, Maldives; FTA and ties top agenda

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Britain and the Maldives this week for meetings with the leadership of both countries to take forward bilateral relations and to formalise the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA).

- Rezaul H Laskar

Modi will travel to the UK during July 23-24 and then go to the Maldives from July 25 to 26. He will be the guest of honour at the Indian Ocean archipelago’s Independence Day, marking a turnaround in bilateral ties that had turned frosty because of the policies of Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu.

The India-UK trade deal, which was finalised in May, is expected to be formally signed during Modi’s visit, people familiar with the matter said. The FTA is set to boost Indian exports of textiles, leather and engineering goods and cut levies on British whisky, automobiles and medical devices. The two sides have been engaged in the legal scrubbing of the deal since May.