UK Opposition Leader Sir Keir Starmer said that there is a huge scope for mutual benefit from enhancing India-UK bilateral relations across all critical areas.Â
UK Opposition leader from the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer said on friday that it is time for the UK-India relationship to be widened across all critical sectors, as part of his foreign policy pitch for the upcoming general elections expected to be held next year. He also said that there is a huge scope to garner mutual benefit and cooperation between the two nations through enhanced bilateral ties.
According to reports, Starmer would be addressing as a keynote speaker to open India Global Forum’s (IGF) Annual UK-India Week Summit 2024 which is to be held in London next month.
The address will provide first crucial insight into the Labour leader’s vision for the party’s relationship with India which underwent some tensions under his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn over sensitive issues such as Kashmir.
IGF UK-India Week 2024
UK-India Week 2024, going to be held from 26-30 June at London, is going to be the 5th flagship event of India Global Forum (IGF). IGF is an agenda-setting forum that seeks to offer a range of platforms for International businesses and policymakers to interact with crucial stakeholders in their sectors and strategically important geographies.
This five-day event will bring together senior politicians, businessmen and policymakers from the UK, India and around the globe to discuss future prospects of strengthening UK-India ties across various sectors. The forum will conclude with the 5th UK-India Awards ceremony, felicitating outstanding contributors from UK or Indian companies to the UK-India corridor.
The weeklong program will also seek to honor and strengthen the longstanding partnership between the two nations by providing a global platform to discuss and analyze crucial issues pertaining to politics, trade, business, inclusion, sustainability and innovation.
The Theme of this year’s UK-India week is ‘Leading with Purpose’ which will serve to augment UK-India ties through entrepreneurial and political discussions on diverse issues related to business, economy, culture and media.Â
Starmer to give keynote address at UK-India Week
Keir Starmer is going to represent the Labour Party’s vision of enhancing UK-India ties at UK-India week next month. He said, ‘The time has arrived for us to look at the future and find ways to widen and deepen our relationship through cooperation in critical sectors such as technology and innovation, trade and economy, diversity and inclusion, healthcare and education industry- all areas where I see enormous scope for mutual benefit’.Â
IGF Founder and CEO Prof. Manoj Ladwa has stated that ‘I believe it is timely that Mr. Starmer will be opening the UK-India week this year. We are at a crucial juncture and therefore his participation underlines the importance of the need for a bipartisan approach to UK’s relationship with India’. He also said that the leader’s intervention at the Forum is much needed and will be eagerly awaited, given the ups and downs in Labour’s ties with India over the past few years
Solidarity towards Indian community
In the backdrop of communal clashes in Leicester following India Vs Pakistan cricket match last year, Starmer had expressed solidarity with the Indian community during Navratri celebrations at London’s India Gardens vowing to fight hate crimes and divisive politics in the country referring directly to ‘hinduphobia’ for the first time.
He also slammed the far-right for trying to exploit grievances, and called for promoting inclusivity by saying that all religions and their followers must be respected rather than discriminated against.
Starmer’s comments were chiefly regarded to rally Indian and more prominently the Hindu diaspora community to boost Labour’s party image which had suffered severed ties under Jeremy Corbyn, known to be less friendly towards India.
Way forward
Considering Sir Starmer’s previous attempts at pacifying the Indian community in Britain, it is no doubt another opportunity for him to showcase the Labour Party’s stance and vision towards negotiating a common and shared relationship between India and UK.
By opening the UK-India Week Summit 2024, Mr. Starmer will address key issues pertaining to UK-India bilateral relationship and navigate a way out to strengthen ties with India.
This move will also serve as a golden opportunity to showcase the Labour Party’s foreign policy pitch towards India which will eventually serve as a mechanism to lure Indian voter base in Britain, who had been distancing themselves from Labour based on highly polarized religious grounds.
