British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday to review bilateral relations and discuss measures to reduce economic shocks caused by ongoing conflicts.
Cooper, who completed his trip to China on Wednesday, traveled to India following a visit by UK Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle that was aimed at giving impetus to the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) signed last year.
The British High Commission said on Wednesday that Cooper, who is on her first official visit to India, will review the delivery under Vision 2035, unveiled by the two countries’ prime ministers last year, and emphasize shared interests with India on freedom of navigation during her meeting with Jaishankar.
The High Commission said the two foreign ministers will discuss “close cooperation between the UK and India to minimize economic shocks caused by ongoing conflicts, maintain global stability and ensure freedom of navigation.”
The mission said Cooper’s visit builds on Kyle’s visit this week to bring the UK-India free trade agreement “into force as soon as possible”.
Among the issues expected to be raised in the meeting between Cooper and Jaishankar are economic growth, technology, innovation, defence, security, climate and education.
British High Commissioner Lindy Cameron said: “The UK-India partnership is a bulwark against growing global uncertainty. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper’s visit this week, her first in this role, represents another important opportunity to build on that partnership.”
Noting that the UK is leading cooperation with India as a priority, Cameron said the two sides are working together in a range of areas, from a technology security initiative that shapes the technologies of the future to a trade deal that “will help make trade cheaper, faster and easier.”
Cooper will welcome new Indian investments in the Tech Security Initiative, interact with AI health tech entrepreneurs and join a special program at the British Council to hear how UK-India partnerships in education and growth are delivering results.
India and the UK signed a free trade agreement in July 2025, paving the way for bilateral trade to increase by £25.5 billion annually. The two sides also deepened defense and security cooperation through a new ten-year defense industrial partnership and enhanced coordination in combating terrorism and emerging threats.
However, concerns over the implementation of the FTA have increased due to the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which could limit duty-free steel imports.
