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China poses threat to UK way of life, says Sunak

The government last year blocked eight investment deals where the buyer was linked to China using new powers to scrutinise foreign investment, according to the statement…reports Asian Lite News

Rishi Sunak has said he is “acutely aware of the particular threat to our open and democratic way of life” posed by China’s Communist regime.

The prime minister was responding to a damning report on the UK’s China strategy by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee.

Ministers would take “all necessary steps” to protect the country from foreign state activity, the PM said. He is facing calls from some Tories to officially classify China a “threat”.

He has resisted taking this step, instead describing China as an “epoch-defining and systemic challenge” while acknowledging the need to engage with the super power.

On Wednesday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer cited the ISC report as he accused the PM of failing to heed warnings about China, leaving the UK “desperately playing catch up” on security. He called for an audit of UK-China relations.

Earlier this week, news emerged that police had arrested a researcher working in Parliament under the Official Secrets Act, amid claims he was spying for China.

The researcher denied the claims in a statement issued through lawyers. He was one of two men arrested under the Official Secrets Act.

Responding to the committee’s report – which was written before the arrest had been made public – Sunak said he was “particularly conscious” of the need for a “robust approach to any and all state threat activity”.

The ISC had warned that China’s ruling Communist Party used its “size, ambition and capability” to “successfully penetrate every sector of the UK’s economy”.

The cross-party committee of Parliamentarians added that “while seeking to exert influence is a legitimate course of action, China oversteps the boundary, and crosses the line into interference”.

“China has been particularly effective at using its money and influence to penetrate or buy academia in order to ensure that its international narrative is advanced and criticism of China supressed.”

A full government response, released alongside Sunak’s statement, concurred that “some Chinese action crosses the line from influence into interference”.

It said it recognised that China had “tried to headhunt British and allied nationals in key positions and with sensitive knowledge and experience, including from government, military, industry and wider society”.

It also said British intelligence was “acutely aware and vigilant” regarding the targeting of current and ex-civil servants. But it said the level of resources devoted to China by the UK intelligence community has increased “significantly” in recent years.

The government last year blocked eight investment deals where the buyer was linked to China using new powers to scrutinise foreign investment, according to the statement.

The government also pointed to the fact that the government banned Huawei from the UK’s 5G telecoms network, and took ownership of the stake in the Sizewell C nuclear power project previously held by the Chinese state-owned company CGN.

The government acknowledges that “further investment” would be needed to ensure it could respond to the challenge. It said it was increasing funding for Mandarin language training and programmes to deepen expertise.

Sunak said the National Security Act, passed in July, “introduces a range of new offences for foreign interference, assisting a foreign intelligence service, sabotage and theft of trade secrets” which would make the UK a “harder target”. And he said steps had been taken to protect universities from threats to freedom of speech in this year’s Higher Education Act.

Conservative MP and ISC chair Julian Lewis rejected Mr Sunak’s claim that the committee’s report was out of date. “Until two months before publication, we monitored all relevant developments and noted them throughout the report – this was not difficult to do given the glacial pace at which the government’s China policy developed,” he said.

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‘Sunak breached code in probe into wife’s assets’

Sunak has taken responsibility for the disclosure and acknowledged that, with hindsight, he would have acted differently…reports Asian Lite News

Rishi Sunak has been found to have broken the MPs’ code of conduct again after Downing Street discussed details of a confidential investigation with the media.

The Prime Minister committed a “minor and inadvertent” breach of the rules, the Commons standards committee said, as statements provided by his team “went beyond what could already be inferred from information properly in the public domain”.

Sunak has taken responsibility for the disclosure and acknowledged that, with hindsight, he would have acted differently.

The infringement relates to details provided by Number 10 about an earlier investigation into the Tory leader’s conduct, which ultimately found he failed to correctly declare his wife’s financial interest in a childcare agency, amounting to a breach.

That line of inquiry by the standards commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, was concluded in August. But the investigation had been extended in April to consider a further breach of confidentiality after Downing Street confirmed the matter being looked into.

The code states that MPs must “not disclose details in relation to: (i) any investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards except when required by law to do so, or authorised by the commissioner”.

Number 10 confirmed that the inquiry related to the childcare agency, while also indicating how the Prime Minister intended to respond.

He initially argued his office had only spoken to details already in the public domain, but went on to “implicitly” accept that he had broken the code, the committee said, as he asked for the matter to be included in the rectification process.

In his written evidence, Sunak said that “with hindsight, I would also have informed my office not to confirm the subject matter of the inquiry in response to questioning”.

The committee found it was a matter of public record that only that the standards commissioner was investigating a possible breach of the rule on declaration of interests.

While the subject of the inquiry could have been “reasonably” inferred from media reports at the time, it found that the indication of Sunak’s response “should properly have remained confidential”.

It concluded the matter amounted to a “minor and inadvertent breach of the code” that “should not have occurred”. The commissioner said it had no material impact on his investigation and no sanctions were recommended.

Wendy Chamberlain, the Liberal Democrat chief whip, said: “Another day, another breach of the rules by Rishi Sunak and his chaotic Conservative government. Sunak promised to govern with integrity – instead he is continuing the same old sleaze and scandal as under Boris Johnson.”

Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg’s investigation began in March in the wake of the government’s Spring Budget, which included a pilot scheme of incentive payments of GBP 600 for childminders joining the profession, a sum that doubles to GBP 1,200 if they sign up through an agency.

Koru Kids was one of six childminder agencies in England listed on the government’s website when the policy was announced, and Akshata Murty was listed as a shareholder in the most recently filed paperwork for the business on Companies House.

Greenberg’s findings ended with a “rectification procedure” and without any sanction after he concluded that Sunak believed he had declared the interest as required but inadvertently confused two different sets of processes involved. However, as his findings included a breach of confidentiality rules, it had to be referred to the Parliament’s Committee on Standards – a process which concluded this week.

In an 18-page report, it concluded: “This was a minor and inadvertent breach of the Code.

“Sunak’s staff should not have issued any statement about the details of the case under investigation, without the approval of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. The Commissioner has made clear that it had no impact on his inquiry. Nevertheless, it constitutes a breach that should not have occurred. However, Mr Sunak acknowledges that with hindsight he would have followed a different course of action. We would remind the Prime Minister, and all Ministers, like all other MPs, that it is their responsibility, as individuals, to ensure that such breaches do not occur.”

The commissioner noted that Sunak had indicated that “with hindsight, he would have made arrangements to restrict the disclosure of information by his office on his behalf”.

Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain described it as “another breach of the rules by Rishi Sunak and his chaotic Conservative government”, accusing him of “continuing the same old sleaze and scandal as under Boris Johnson”.

Last week, Conservative MP Marcus Fysh was ordered by the standards committee to apologise to the Commons for speaking to the media about a separate, then ongoing, investigation by Mr Greenberg.

ALSO READ-Sunak on a slippery slope

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We will not accept Chinese interference, says Sunak

The Met Police confirmed on Saturday that two men were arrested under the Official Secrets Act in March…reports Asian Lite News

Rishi Sunak has said he “will not accept” Chinese interference in the UK’s democracy, after it emerged a parliamentary researcher was arrested amid accusations he spied for China.

In a statement to MPs, the PM said he told Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the recent G20 summit that any attempted spying “will never be tolerated”.

The Met Police confirmed on Saturday that two men were arrested under the Official Secrets Act in March. The researcher denies the allegations.

The man said in a statement he felt “forced to respond” to accusations in the media. China has rejected the allegations of spying, with foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning calling it “malicious slander”.

House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has warned MPs against identifying the man – who is not being named by the BBC – using parliamentary privilege.

During a statement to the House of Commons on the G20 summit in India, Sunak told MPs: “I have been emphatically clear in our engagement with China that we will not accept any interference in our democracy and parliamentary system. “We will defend our democracy and our security.

“So I was emphatic with Premier Li that actions which seek to undermine British democracy are completely unacceptable and will never be tolerated.”

Under questioning from Sir Keir Starmer, Sunak said Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had also raised China’s attempts to interfere with UK democracy on his recent visit to China.

Sir Keir said “incidents like this show the constant threats that we face”. ‘Clear eyed’

In a separate statement, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said the government were “reviewing” increasing checks on figures working for the Chinese government in the UK. Several MPs called for China to be classed in the “enhanced tier” of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, introduced earlier this year.

Adding countries to this creates additional reporting requirements for China-linked organisations. Senior Tory backbenchers, including former prime minster Liz Truss and ex-Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, have called for the government to officially designate China as a threat to the UK – a move so far resisted by ministers.

Speaking in the Commons, Dowden said there was a “strong case to be made” for this, but the government was “currently reviewing” which countries to add to the registration scheme.

He added that ministers were “clear eyed” about the challenges posed by China, but added it was not realistic to “completely disengage” with the country.

News of the arrests was first reported in the Sunday Times, which claimed the researcher had links to several Conservative MPs, including Security Minister Tom Tugendhat and Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns.

Tugendhat is said to have had only limited contact with the man, and no dealings with him as a minister. The arrest of the researcher has renewed a debate among MPs about whether the UK should take a stricter approach to China.

China is the UK’s fourth largest trading partner, and British ministers regularly highlight the need to work with the country on big international issues such as tackling climate change.

But relations have soured in recent years over a series of issues, including threats to civil liberties in the former British colony of Hong Kong and China’s support for Russia during the war in Ukraine.

The British law firm Birnberg Peirce issued a statement Monday on his behalf.

“I feel forced to respond to the media accusations that I am a ‘Chinese spy,’” the statement said. “It is wrong that I should be obliged to make any form of public comment on the misreporting that has taken place.”

He continued: “It is vital that it is known that I am completely innocent. I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party. To do what has been claimed against me in extravagant news reporting would be against everything I stand for.”

In Parliament, Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle confirmed the two March arrests and reported that a limited number of people were “immediately briefed on a strictly confidential basis.”

Hoyle said: “This is an ongoing, sensitive investigation. Members of course understand that public discussion will be wholly inappropriate.”

Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, told the Commons that the arrested men were facing “serious allegations, and it is right they are being investigated.”

Pressed on what Britain was doing to protect its secrets, the deputy prime minister noted that it had banned Chinese IT companies from government offices, and TikTok from government computers and mobile phones.

Earlier, the government banned Chinese tech giant Huawei from Britain’s 5G networks.

Multiple lawmakers argued that the spying allegations should support a harder line against China.

“These are extremely worrying reports about the level of infiltration of Chinese-supported forces into our democracy,” said Liz Truss, who served 49 days as prime minister last year and remains a Conservative lawmaker in Parliament.

ALSO READ-Sunak Addresses Sikh Detention Issue in Talks with Modi

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Sunak Addresses Sikh Detention Issue in Talks with Modi

Johal’s brother Gurpreet Singh Johal, a lawyer and Labour councillor, said he is “pleased” that Sunak has raised the case with Modi but it is “not enough”…reports Asian Lite News

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed that he raised the case of a Scottish Sikh detained in India since 2017 during his talks with counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, a BBC report said.

While the UK Foreign Office ruled out intervening in the Jagtar Singh Johal’s case on September 8, Sunak, under pressure to highlight the issue, said he raised it along with other consular issues.

He did not provide details, but said: “The Foreign Office is continuing to provide support to Mr Johal’s family and will continue to do so.”

In response to the development, campaigners for Johal said the UK government should declare Modi’s response to Sunak on the issue, and that it is “meaningless” if the Prime Minister didn’t call for “immediate release”, the BBC reported on Sunday.

“What did Rishi Sunak say to Narendra Modi about the case and how did he respond? Without answers to these questions, the prime minister’s talk is meaningless,” Maya Foa, Director of human rights group Reprieve, told the BBC.

The UK Sikh Federation said Sunak had appeared “very reluctant” to press Johal’s case since entering No 10, and “has demonstrated his weakness and lack of leadership by shamefully failing to stand up for the rights of a British citizen”.

“Rishi Sunak and his Foreign Office ministers are now talking utter nonsense in terms of Jagtar’s best interests and justice. They appear scared and clueless on how best to apply diplomatic pressure on India and are leaving it to the corrupt Indian judicial system,” Dabinderjit Singh, the principal adviser to the Sikh Federation, told the BBC.

Sunak’s action came after a group of more than 70 MPs called on him last week to urge Prime Minister Modi to secure the 36-year-old Sikh campaigner’s “immediate release”.

En route New Delhi for the G20 Summit on September 9-10, Sunak, on being asked whether he would be raising the case, said that he would be “raising a range of things with Prime Minister Modi — this (Johal’s case) is something that, just so people are reassured, has already been raised on multiple levels on multiple occasions”.

Johal’s brother Gurpreet Singh Johal, a lawyer and Labour councillor, said he is “pleased” that Sunak has raised the case with Modi but it is “not enough”.

“Raising (the case) is not enough unless he has called for Jagtar’s release in line with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s findings. I fear that this is just more talk from the UK government and no action,” Gurpreet told the BBC.

Jagtar Singh Johal from Dumbarton was in Punjab for his wedding when he was arrested from Jalandhar on November 4, 2017, over his alleged role in killings by the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), a banned terrorist organisation.

His family claims that he was tortured, including through electric shocks, before being made to sign a blank confession document — allegations that have been denied by the Indian authorities.

In May 2022, the UN working group on arbitrary detention concluded that he had been arbitrarily detained and that his detention breached international human rights law.

He is currently being held at the Tihar Jail in Delhi and faces a possible death penalty over eight charges of conspiracy to murder, linked to political violence in India.

Denying all the charges against him, Jagtar Singh Johal says his arrest and trial are political.

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Sunak challenges premier Li after ‘spying for China’ arrests

The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak holds a bilateral meeting with China Premier Li Qiang at the G20

The prime minister has also refused to rule out inviting China to his summit on artificial intelligence later this year…reports Asian Lite News

Rishi Sunak has challenged the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, over Chinese interference in the UK parliament, after two men were arrested amid allegations that a parliamentary researcher had spied for Beijing.

The prime minister met Li on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Delhi in an unplanned meeting hours after the Sunday Times revealed the researcher, who is understood to have had links to senior Conservative MPs, had been arrested along with another man.

After the meeting, Sunak said: “I obviously can’t comment on the specifics of an ongoing investigation but with regard to my meeting with Premier Li what I said very specifically is that I raised a range of different concerns that we have in areas of disagreement, and in particular, my very strong concerns about any interference in our parliamentary democracy, which is obviously unacceptable.

“We discussed a range of things and I raised areas where there are disagreements. And this is just part of our strategy to protect ourselves, protect our values and our interests, to align our approach to China with that of our allies like America, Australia, Canada, Japan and others, but also to engage where it makes sense.”

According to Chinese media, Li told Sunak the two countries “should properly handle disagreements, respect each other’s core interests and major concerns”.

The meeting had not been scheduled, but was confirmed on Sunday morning after news of the arrests broke. The issue was the first thing Sunak raised during their 20-minute encounter, to which Li responded that the two countries had “differences in opinion”.

The pair also spoke about trade, Ukraine and artificial intelligence. They did not talk in detail about the AI summit in the UK later this year, however, despite reports that Britain had issued an invitation to China to attend.

Last month, James Cleverly became the first foreign secretary in five years to visit China and said during the visit that it would not be “credible” to disengage with Beijing.

Sunak, meanwhile, has angered China hawks in his own party by refusing to say the country is a threat to Britain. He said earlier this year: “I don’t think it’s kind of smart or sophisticated foreign policy to reduce our relationship with China – which after all is a country with one and a half billion people, the second biggest economy, and member of the UN security council.”

The prime minister has also refused to rule out inviting China to his summit on artificial intelligence later this year.

The latest row over Chinese espionage at the heart of British democracy risks damaging any detente between the two countries, however.

The Sunday Times said the researcher, who is in his 20s, and another man in his 30s had been arrested in March. The man, who is a UK citizen, reportedly had links to Alicia Kearns, the Conservative chair of the foreign affairs select committee, and Tom Tugendhat, the security minister.

Officers from the Metropolitan police’s counter terrorism command, which oversees espionage-related offences, are investigating.

The man in his 30s was arrested in Oxfordshire on 13 March , while the man in his 20s was arrested in Edinburgh, Scotland Yard said. Both were held on suspicion of offences under section one of the Official Secrets Act 1911, which punishes offences that are said to be “prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state”.

“Searches were also carried out at both the residential properties, as well as at a third address in east London,” a statement from the force said. Both men were held at a south London police station until being bailed until early October.

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Sunak thanks Modi for historic G20 Summit

Sunak announced $2 billion fund for Green Climate Fund — the biggest single funding commitment the UK has made to help the world tackle climate change…reports Asian Lite News

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a historic G20 Summit, and before leaving India, said from global food security to international partnerships, it has been a busy but successful summit.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Sunak said: “Stronger together. Stronger united. Thank you Narendra Modi for a historic G20 and the Indian people for such a warm welcome. From global food security to international partnerships, it’s been a busy but successful summit.”

British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis said, “Congratulations to the G20 and Amitabh Kant. Thank you to Rishi Sunak and (Akshata) Murty for the visit. A G20 Summit of ambition, inclusion and action G20 India G20 Bharat.”

Earlier in the day, Sunak announced $2 billion fund for Green Climate Fund — the biggest single funding commitment the UK has made to help the world tackle climate change.

Sunak also visited Akshardham temple along with his wife Akshata Murthy and then also visited Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi. The world leaders observed one minute silence and laid a wreath at Rajghat.

Sunak had arrived in Delhi on Friday.

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Sunak announces $2bn Green Climate Fund

The GCF is the largest global fund dedicated to supporting developing countries to reduce global emissions and help communities adapt to the effects of climate change…reports Asian Lite News

Rishi Sunak announced a record climate aid commitment as the G20 Summit in India nears its commencement, said the British High Commission in India on Sunday.

The UK will provide $2 billion to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) which is the biggest single funding commitment the UK has made to help the world tackle climate change, which was established by 194 countries following the Copenhagen Accord at COP15.

“Uplift makes a significant contribution towards the UK’s pledge to spend 11.6bn Pounds on international climate finance, cementing our global climate leadership. UK continues to show global climate leadership, having cut emissions faster than any other G7 country,” said a release by the British High Commission.

This is the UK’s biggest single financial contribution to helping the world’s most vulnerable people adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate change.

The GCF is the largest global fund dedicated to supporting developing countries to reduce global emissions and help communities adapt to the effects of climate change.

Today’s pledge represents a 12.7 per cent increase on the UK’s previous contribution to the GCF for the period of 2020-2023, which was itself a doubling of our initial funding to establish the fund in 2014, the release added.

At the G20 Summit UK PM Sunak has called on leaders to work together ahead of the COP28 Summit this December to both reduce their countries’ own carbon emissions and support vulnerable economies to deal with the consequences of climate change.

Addressing G20 leaders, Sunak said, “The UK is stepping up and delivering on our climate commitments, both by decarbonising our own economy and supporting the world’s most vulnerable to deal with the impact of climate change.”

 “This is the kind of leadership that the world rightly expects from G20 countries. And this government will continue to lead by example in making the UK, and the world, more prosperous and secure,” he added. (ANI)

ALSO READ-Rishi Sunak’s Spiritual Visit to Akshardham During G20 Summit

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Rishi Sunak’s Spiritual Visit to Akshardham During G20 Summit

Sharing his impressions of his visit, the Prime Minister said: “My wife and I were delighted to visit Swaminarayan Akshardham for darshan and puja this morning…reports Asian Lite News

The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, accompanied by his wife Akshata Murthy, visited BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi, India, on Sunday 10 September 2023 during his official trip to the city for the G20 summit.

The PM and his convoy arrived at 6.45 in the morning. They were warmly welcomed in a traditional Hindu manner symbolising goodwill and friendship. Mr Sunak was then greeted by swamis, as well as senior leaders from Akshardham Mandir, who relayed a special message on behalf of His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, spiritual leader of BAPS. His Holiness had extended his personal wishes and prayers for him and the other delegates. He wrote, “In the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, we pray for you and all the attendees: May the summit be a resounding success in collectively helping the whole world towards peace, righteous prosperity, and global harmony.”

During his visit, the Prime Minister was given an overview of Swaminarayan Akshardham – a 100-acre spiritual and cultural complex that portrays the traditions and ancient architecture of India and promotes the timeless Hindu spiritual messages of faith, devotion and harmony.

Inside the main mandir, Mr Sunak and his wife paid their respects to the sacred images and admired the art and architecture. The couple also performed abhishek (ritual pouring of water) on the murti of Shri Nilkanth Varni Maharaj, and offered prayers for world peace, progress and harmony.

Sharing his impressions of his visit, the Prime Minister said: “My wife and I were delighted to visit Swaminarayan Akshardham for darshan and puja this morning.

We were amazed and awed by the beauty of this temple and its universal message of peace, harmony, and becoming a better human being. This is not only a place of worship, but a landmark that also portrays India’s values, culture and contributions to the world.

We see today in Britain these very same values and culture through the positive contributions the British Indian community makes to our country.

I was honoured to have received the blessings of His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj conveyed to me this morning, and I understand that His Holiness is inaugurating another beautiful Swaminarayan Akshardham temple in Robbinsville, USA very soon.

I would like to send my very best wishes to His Holiness and all the devotees of BAPS ahead of the opening.”

Brahmavihari Swami, the senior swami of the sanstha, added: “It was an honour to welcome the Prime Minister to Swaminarayan Akshardham and share His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj’s message of peace, unity and public service. The UK’s relationship with India is built on a bond of friendship and fostered by cultural exchanges as well as a vibrant Indian diaspora in the UK. We were delighted to strengthen this relationship through this visit.”

Despite the inclement weather conditions, the Prime Minister dedicated almost one hour to partake in the act of darshan and prayer at the temple.

ALSO READ-Sunak strolls on Delhi streets with wife Akshata

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Sunak strolls on Delhi streets with wife Akshata

Sunak had also visited the British Council of India on Friday afternoon after arriving in India…reports Asian Lite News

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was seen walking on the streets of the national capital along with wife Akshata Murthy on Friday night. In the photographs, the couple was seen walking along in the backdrop of the presence of security personnel and guards.

Sunak on Friday held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence and then went for a late night walk along with his wife. Sunak had also visited the British Council of India on Friday afternoon after arriving in India.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Sunak wrote: “Before meeting the world leaders of today I’ve been meeting with the world leaders of tomorrow. It’s been fantastic to visit students and staff here at British Council of India – a reflection of the living bridge that exists between the UK and India.”

Sunak along with his wife Murthy arrived at the Palam airstrip on Friday for the G20 Leaders’ Summit beginning on Saturday and was received by Union Minister Ashwini Choubey, British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis and senior diplomats.

After landing in Delhi, Sunak in a post on X said: “I’ve landed in Delhi ahead of the #G20 summit. I am meeting world leaders to address some of the challenges that impact every one of us. Only together can we get the job done.”

ALSO READ-Modi, Sunak Hold Talks on Sidelines of G20

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UK, India two nations with one ambition, says Sunak

New Delhi, Sept 9 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United Kingdom PM Rishi Sunak exchange greetings during the G20 Leaders' Summit, at the Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, in New Delhi on Saturday. (ANI Photo)

The meeting between the two leaders was held at the Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan, the venue of the Summit…reports Asian Lite News

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday said the UK and India are two nations with one ambition, an ambition rooted in shared values, the connection between people.

“Two nations, one ambition. An ambition rooted in our shared values, the connection between our people and – of course – our passion for cricket,” the UK PM tweeted on Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a bilateral meeting with his UK counterpart Sunak on the sidelines of the G20 Summit being held in the national capital under India’s presidency.

The meeting between the two leaders was held at the Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan, the venue of the Summit.

The UK Prime Minister’s office on Saturday tweeted: “PM @RishiSunak and PM @narendramodi met today at the #G20 summit. They discussed the close and growing ties between the UK and India and had a productive conversation on work towards delivering the UK-India FTA.”

Talks between the two leaders followed their meeting held on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in May this year in which they had discussed the India-UK free trade agreement, innovation, and science along with ways to strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

The two countries are negotiating a Free Trade Agreement, talks for which had begun in 2022. The 12th round of negotiations for the UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) took place from August 8 to 31 this year.

In August this year, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and the UK’s Secretary of State for Trade Kemi Badenoch took stock of the FTA and agreed on ways to make progress in the negotiations. The 13th round of negotiations is due to take place in September.

Earlier today, PM Modi and Rishi Sunak participated in Session 1 on ‘One Earth’ during the G20 Summit. Sunak said that the world is looking to G20 to provide leadership and that the leaders are meeting at a time of enormous challenges. He expressed confidence that the leaders will together be able to address the challenges.

In a post shared on X, Sunak stated, “15 years ago, #G20 leaders came together for the first time to restore global growth after the financial crisis. We meet at a time of enormous challenges – the world is looking to the G20 once again to provide leadership. Together I believe we can address these challenges.”

Earlier, PM Modi welcomed world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, UK PM Rishi Sunak, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and others as they arrived to attend the Summit at the Bharat Mandapam venue.

Rishi Sunak and PM Modi warmly greeted each other with Namaste and shook hands. The two leaders also hugged each other as they posed for cameras.

Sunak, accompanied by wife Akshata Murty had arrived in Delhi on Friday. This is Rishi Sunak’s first visit to India after he assumed the office of Prime Minister of the UK in October last year.

India and the UK are bound by strong ties of history and culture, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. India’s multifaceted bilateral relationship with the UK intensified with its upgradation to a Strategic Partnership in 2004. (ANI)

ALSO READ-Modi, Sunak Hold Talks on Sidelines of G20