Rajnath calls on Sunak during UK visit, discusses enhancing defence ties

New Delhi, Jan 11

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street, London, said officials on Thursday, adding that both discussed enhancing defence ties between the two countries.

The meeting took place on Wednesday during which Singh recalled the recent enhancement in bilateral defence engagement, spanning joint exercises, training, capability building, increased interoperability and military-to-military ties especially in the maritime domain.

Sunak fully agreed with Rajnath Singh on the need for UK and India to work in the domains of trade, defence and technology. In particular, he expressed hope that the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations could be brought to a successful conclusion soon. He was keen to bloster defence and security pillar of India-UK ties, officials said. Sunak also underlined his keenness, and that of his government, to strengthen the defence and security pillar of the bilateral relationship, including through government backing for stronger business and technology partnerships.