Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Keir Starmer on Tuesday held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil, discussing trade ties, technology partnerships and extradition of fugitive Indian economic offenders, among other things.

In their first meeting since Starmer took office in the UK, India pushed for the extradition of fugitive Indian businessmen like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, with Prime Minister Modi highlighting the importance of resolving this problem, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Another important outcome of the discussions was the agreement to resume negotiations on a free trade agreement between India and the United Kingdom, thus allaying concerns about the Labor government’s unfavorable position on the proposed agreement.

“Both leaders stressed the importance of resuming negotiations on the free trade agreement as soon as possible and expressed confidence in the ability of the negotiating teams to resolve the remaining issues to mutual satisfaction, leading to a balanced, mutually beneficial and forward-looking free trade agreement. “, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Starmer said negotiations would be restarted in the new year. Negotiations on the draft FTA began in January 2022 and the two sides held 14 rounds of discussions. However, several controversial issues remain unresolved.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would open two new consulates in Belfast and Manchester in the United Kingdom, “in light of growing bilateral economic and trade relations”.

The two Prime Ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership, with emphasis on economy, trade, new and emerging technologies, research and innovation, green finance and contacts between people, added the government.

India actively pursues the extradition of economic offenders from the UK, particularly in high-profile cases such as Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. Mallya is accused of defaulting on bank loans worth over Rs 9,000 crore involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines. He has lived in the UK since March 2016 and is trying to avoid extradition to India.

Nirav Modi, a fugitive diamond merchant, has been imprisoned in London for more than five years. He lost his legal battle against extradition over fraud and money laundering charges in India.

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