Keir Starmer to Visit India for First Time as UK Prime Minister, Focus on Trade and Strategic Ties

New Delhi, October 4, 2025: United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer will undertake his first official visit to India from October 8 to 9 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Saturday.

During the visit, both leaders will meet in Mumbai on October 9 to review progress under the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, guided by Vision 2035 — a decade-long roadmap for cooperation in trade, technology, defence, climate, health, and education.

The two prime ministers will also engage with top business and industry leaders to discuss new opportunities arising from the recently signed India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which serves as a cornerstone of the future economic relationship between the two nations.

Both leaders are expected to exchange views on major regional and global issues and will attend the 6th Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, where they will deliver keynote addresses alongside policymakers and innovators.

The visit follows Prime Minister Modi’s trip to the UK in July 2025, which strengthened bilateral cooperation and paved the way for deeper economic engagement. The new visit aims to reaffirm the shared vision of building a forward-looking partnership between the two countries.

The CETA agreement, signed in the presence of PM Modi and PM Starmer, was formalised by India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and the UK’s Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds. It grants zero-duty access to 99 percent of tariff lines, boosting trade in goods and services between India and the UK.

A major highlight of the deal is the removal of import tariffs on a wide range of seafood products, enhancing India’s competitiveness in the UK market. This development is expected to significantly benefit exports of shrimp, frozen fish, and value-added marine items, while also supporting labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather, and jewellery.

With the new agreement in force, all fish and fisheries products classified under the UK’s ‘A’ tariff schedule now enjoy 100 percent duty-free access, marking a major milestone in India-UK trade relations.