Bali: The UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the sidelines of G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia.
The two leaders discussed ways to boost trade between the two countries.
Modi took to Twitter to inform that 'it was great to meet PM Rishi Sunak. ".. India attaches great importance to robust 🇮🇳 🇬🇧 ties. We discussed ways to increase commercial linkages, raise the scope of security cooperation in context of India’s defence reforms and make people-to-people ties even stronger."
Rishi Sunak greenlights 3,000 UK visas for Indians
Earlier today, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has given the go-ahead for 3,000 visas for young professionals from India to work in the UK each year.
This announcement in the Downing Street readout came hours after Sunak met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 17th edition of the G20 Summit. This was their first meeting after the first Indian-origin British PM assumed office last month.
Sunak's controversial meeting with China's Xi at G20 cancelled
A meeting scheduled on Wednesday between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G20 summit has been cancelled, informed the deputy political editor of the Guardian newspaper on Twitter.
"Sunak's bilateral with China's president Xi has been cancelled this afternoon, described as being because of time pressures after the snap meeting this morning on the missiles in Poland," the journalist wrote.
The much-anticipated meeting had to be scrapped last minute, in what was the first time a UK prime minister would have met the Chinese premier in person since 2018.
Theresa May in January 2018 had visited China for a 3-day trade visit while Boris Johnson had a telephonic conversation with Xi during the Covid pandemic in March 2021.
Some reports claimed Xi and Sunak could not agree to a time to hold the meeting after several world leaders got into emergency talks to respond to the missile strike in Poland Tuesday night.
Sunak attended an emergency meeting of G7 leaders convened by U.S. President Joe Biden in Bali Wednesday morning. He also held calls with his defense and foreign secretaries and with the Ukrainian foreign minister, reported politico.
Rishi Sunak had earlier said China poses a systemic challenge to UK values and represents the “biggest state-based threat to our economic security”.
Coming out in support of Taiwan, Sunak said Britain will consider sending arms to help Taiwan to defend itself in the event of an attack from neighbouring Beijing.
Speaking reporters travelling with him to Indonesia for the G20 Summit: “My view is that China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests and it represents the biggest state-based threat to our economic security.
“I think that view, by the way, is highly aligned with our allies.”
