New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a three-day visit to Britain beginning on Thursday with a focus on ramping up trade and investment and deepen ties in defence, security and energy sectors besides stepping up cooperation in combating terrorism and extremism.
Ahead of the visit, he exuded confidence that his trip will deepen bilateral ties in a range of areas with a particular focus on expanding economic and defence cooperation.
Mr Modi will have lunch with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace —an honour usually only accorded to heads of state, and deliver an address at the British Parliament. He will also address a reception at the Wembley stadium, expected to be attended by around 60,000 people.
Mr Modi will have wide-ranging talks with his counterpart David Cameron and both sides are likely to sign a number of pacts besides issuing an “outcome document” and separate statements on defence, security and on energy security.
“My visit is aimed at strengthening cooperation with a traditional friend that is not only a major economic partner of India but also one of the leading economic players of the world. India and UK are two vibrant democracies, which are proud of their diversity and multicultural societies,” Mr Modi said in a Facebook post.
Mr Jaishankar said boosting economic ties will be a major focus area, besides enhancing ties in defence and clean energy sector. Mr Modi will interact with the CEOs at a roundtable in London where he will list various initiatives to ensure ease of doing business in India. Modi will also visit Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover factory at Solihull.
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