Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated Rishi Sunak on becoming the next UK PM and said he was looking forward to closely working with him on global issues and implementing “Roadmap 2030”. Rishi Sunak made history as Britain’s first Indian-origin Prime Minister after being elected unopposed as the new leader of the ruling Conservative Party on Diwali.
“Warmest congratulations Rishi Sunak! As you become UK PM, I look forward to working closely together on global issues, and implementing Roadmap 2030. Special Diwali wishes to the ‘living bridge’ of UK Indians, as we transform our historic ties into a modern partnership,” PM Modi tweeted.
In 2021, India and the UK had adopted “Roadmap 2030” during a virtual bilateral summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his then British counterpart Boris Johnson that sought to elevate bilateral ties to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”.
The relations between India and the UK have come under stress after the two nations missed the Diwali deadline for concluding negotiations for a trade deal.
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In August, Sunak, while addressing a gathering of British Indian Conservative Party members, said that he wanted to change the UK-India relationship to make it a more two-way exchange that opens up easy access to UK students and companies in India, PTI reported.
“We know the UK-India relationship is important. We represent the living bridge between our two countries,” he had said.
“We are all very aware of the opportunity for the UK to sell things and do things in India, but actually we need to look at that relationship differently because there is an enormous amount that we here in the UK can learn from India,” Sunak had said.
Sunak, whose parents–retired doctor Yashvir and pharmacist Usha Sunak– are of Indian descent and had migrated from Kenya to the UK in the 1960s, is married to Infosys chief Narayan Murthy’s daughter Akshata Murthy.
“I want to make sure that it’s easy for our students to also travel to India and learn, that it’s also easy for our companies and Indian companies to work together because it’s not just a one-way relationship, it’s a two-way relationship, and that’s the type of change I want to bring to that relationship,” he had said.