New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his British counterpart Liz Truss on Thursday emphasised the need for retaining the strategic focus on the Indo-Pacific region, while carrying out a comprehensive review of the India-UK ties.
Truss visited India on Thursday during which she also met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
“On Ukraine, India reiterated that the immediate cessation of violence and return to dialogue and diplomacy is the key to long term peace in the region,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, sharing details of the Jaishankar-Truss talks.
While delving into the situation in Afghanistan, both sides highlighted the need for unhindered access to humanitarian assistance in the war-torn country.
They also emphasised that Afghan territory should not be used by terror outfits to destabilise the region, the MEA said in a statement.
It said the two sides agreed to resolve legacy issues and deepen defence and security cooperation, including in defence co-development and co-production.
They also vowed to enhance capacities to address the growing threats in the cyber, space and maritime domains.
“India welcomed the UK’s interest in participating in its national defence manufacturing programme through Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat. They agreed to consult intensively on this,” the MEA said.
“They emphasised the need to retain strategic focus on the Indo-Pacific region and in this context, India welcomed the readiness of the UK side in undertaking activities under the Maritime Security Pillar of the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI),” it added.
The IPOI is an open, inclusive, non-treaty based, global initiative that was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 14th East Asia Summit in November 2019 to promote collaborative efforts among like-minded nations to better manage, conserve and secure the Indo-Pacific maritime domain.
The MEA said Jaishankar and Truss expressed satisfaction on the progress achieved so far on the “Roadmap 2030” and agreed to further intensify efforts to deliver results in the priority areas of trade and investments, defence and security, migration and mobility and green energy.
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 other spheres, were adopted at a virtual summit between the prime ministers of the two countries last year.
“Both sides appreciated the substantial progress made in the India-UK FTA negotiations with two productive rounds already completed since their launch in January 2022,” the MEA said.
It said the two sides also discussed the implementation of the migration and mobility partnership, which has the potential to bring the people of both countries even closer.
“They also discussed the modalities of instituting the Strategic Tech Dialogue to enhance cooperation on new and emerging strategic technologies like 5G, AI and quantum,” the MEA said. PTI MPB RC
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Source: The Print
