The UK has much to offer to India in terms of technology, resources, opportunities and best practices, the EAM said

Maintaining that both India and UK have undergone a sea-change in recent years, each in its own way, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said from India’s viewpoint, there are many UKs that New Delhi wants to engage with, simultaneously.

The EAM said so in his address at the London-based think tank, Policy Exchange on ‘India & U.K. in the post-Covid World’.

“From India’s viewpoint, there are many UKs that we seek to engage simultaneously: The Global Britain, the Atlantic UK, even the European one after Brexit, the City of London, the non-London UK, the diaspora one, the innovation and education UK and of course, the strategic and historical UKs,” he highlighted.

“The internal balance amongst them has clearly shifted as a result of Brexit and the global aspect is today understandably much more in the forefront,” the EAM said.

He noted that both nations have undergone a sea-change in recent years, each in its own way.

“Where the UK is concerned, it is clearly a very different polity in the aftermath of Brexit. As for India, decisive changes since 2014 that reflect its national character, diversity and democratic urges more accurately have made it a more confident partner,” he stated.

“And it is precisely in that evolution, as also the changing nature of world politics that holds the key to our relationship,” EAM Jaishankar added.

Jaishankar said that the many UKs have much to offer India, whether it is in terms of technology, resources, opportunities and best practices, or for that matter, in making the world a safer and better place.

In turn, India holds its own attractions for the UK, be it as a talent pool, a growing market, an incubator of fresh ideas and innovation or as a more influential player on the world stage, he said.

Calling Indian diaspora as the most visible manifestation of making history work positively for the growth of the relationship he stated that this living bridge must be carefully and continuously nurtured.

Real global challenges like terrorism and climate change can also be much more effectively addressed if, in fact, the two of us cooperate much more strongly, the Minister said.

Stating that Covid-19 has also brought to the forefront globally issues of trust and transparency as well as reliability and resilience, he said the pandemic has helped make a more compelling case for working together not only in public health and R&D, but also in equal measure, for secure supply chains and in global governance.

As regarding the May 4 virtual summit between Prime Minister Modi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Jaishankar said it has truly redefined the contours of India-UK bilateral relationship.

He said the Modi-Johnson summit has produced a very detailed roadmap that will guide policy makers and implementers in the coming days in the expansion of the two countries’ ties.