KEIR STARMER DEEPENS INDIA-UK COMPREHENSIVE PARTNERSHIP

Despite the change in political leadership in London, free trade talks are continuing and are likely to end positively. The UK is also strongly supporting a UNSC seat for India.

- ARHINANDAN MISHRA

The newly elected Keir Starmer government in the United Kingdom and New Delhi are working on multiple issues behind the scenes that could have significant implications for both countries in future.

The two governments are already in advanced talks for a free trade agreement, which was expected to be concluded before the AprilMay general elections in India. Official sources aware of the development said that despite the change in political leadership in London, the talks are continuing from where they were left, and a conclusion on the agreement is not ruled out in the coming days.

Britain is regularly discussing the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), also known as the Chagos Archipelago, with India at very high levels. The Chagos Archipelago is a UK Overseas Territory in the Indian Ocean. It was once a part of Mauritius but was separated before Mauritius gained independence from the UK in 1968. The archipelago includes Diego Garcia, which now hosts a key US military base. The creation of this base led to the forced removal of the Chagossian people, who have been fighting to return home ever since. It consists of 58 islands covering around 640,000 square km of ocean. The islands have a land area of 60 square km and 698 km of coastline. Diego Garcia, the largest and most southerly island, is 44 square km in area.