Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will pay a major visit to england and the maldives from July 23 to 26, with the aim of strengthening India's diplomatic and economic ties. The first leg of his visit will be to the UK on July 23 and 24. There, he is expected to finalise the historic India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The deal aims to double bilateral trade to $120 billion by 2030. india and the UK, the world's fifth and sixth largest economies, are set to finalise the deal soon after three years of negotiations. After the agreement is signed, it will come into effect only after it is ratified by the UK parliament and approved by the indian Cabinet. It is expected to take about a year to be fully implemented.
Prime minister Modi will visit the maldives on July 25 and 26. He will participate in the country's 60th National Day celebrations as the chief guest. Recently, the "India Out" campaign caused a rift in India-Maldives relations. This visit assumes great significance as it is Modi's first visit to the maldives after the tensions that arose. Maldivian President Mohamed Morsi visited india in october 2024. At that time, he stressed that the friendly relations between india and the maldives are built on common interests and india has always been one of the largest trading partners of the Maldives.
Earlier in May, india signed 13 MoUs with india to improve ferry services, expand maritime connectivity, and improve social livelihoods in the Maldives. india has said it will provide a grant of 100 million Maldivian rupees (MVR) for the project. maldives is India's key maritime neighbour in the indian Ocean Region (IOR). The maldives has been a key player in India's 'SAGAR' and India's 'Neighbourhood First' policies. Earlier in January, Defence minister Rajnath Singh had also stressed that the maldives holds a special place in India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy. india has formulated the 'Neighbourhood First' policy with the aim of bringing stability and prosperity to the indian Ocean region.
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Sowmiya Sriram

19/07/2025 07:54 PM