Defence ties, reducing Russian dependence focus of UK minister's India visit

London, March 31

Deepening security and defence ties with India and the importance of all countries reducing strategic dependency on Russia in light of the Ukraine conflict will be the focal points of discussions when British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss arrives in New Delhi on Thursday.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the high-level ministerial visit was part of a wider diplomatic push and comes ahead of NATO and G7 meetings next week to tackle “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”.

The minister wants to counter Russia’s aggression and reduce global strategic dependence on the country and her agenda includes progressing talks to develop defence-related trade with India, including innovative security technology, to strengthen defence ties with the world’s largest democracy.

“Deeper ties between Britain and India will boost security in the Indo-Pacific and globally, and create jobs and opportunities in both countries,” said Truss, ahead of her visit – expected to be a short day-long tour.

“This matters even more in the context of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and underlines the need for free democracies to work closer together in areas like defence, trade and cyber security. India is an economic and tech powerhouse, the world’s largest democracy and a great friend of Britain, and I want to build an even closer relationship between our two nations,” she said.

In her meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the minister will say that Russia’s action in Ukraine underlines the importance of democracies working closer together to “deter aggressors, reduce vulnerability to coercion and strengthen global security”.

The ministers will go on to address the India-UK Strategic Futures Forum on Thursday to set out their vision for the long-term relationship between the two countries.