India-UK Relations: UPSC Current Affairs

Why in the News?

Recently, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in India on a two-day visit. This was Johnson's maiden visit to India after becoming UK PM.

Probable Question

New geopolitical realities demand a new strategic vision. It is time to seize the moment and lay the foundations of a partnership that can respond adequately to the challenges of the 21st century. Comment 

Key Highlights of the Visit

• India-U.K. defence partnership: The U.K. agreed to issue an Open General Export Licence (OGEL) to support greater defence and security collaboration in the coming decade. 
  • The OGEL will reduce bureaucratic interference and shorten the delivery time for India’s defence procurement. 
  • This is the first British OGEL in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Free Trade Agreement: Both sides have decided to do their best to close the pact by the end of this year.
  • In the last few months, India has concluded Free Trade Agreements with UAE and Australia.
  • In January 2022, India and the UK managed to conclude the first round of talks for an India–UK Free Trade Agreement.
  • FTA with India would provide a boost to its ‘Global Britain’ ambitions as the U.K. has sought to expand its markets beyond Europe since Brexit. 
• On Ukraine: India stressed an immediate ceasefire and resolution of the problem through dialogue and diplomacy.
  • India also reiterated the importance of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries.
• On Indo-Pacific: Talking about the Indo-Pacific, India emphasized on maintaining a free, open, inclusive and rules-based order in the region.
  • India welcomed the U.K.’s decision to join the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. 
  • The U.K. is a regional power in the Indo-Pacific as it possesses naval facilities in Oman, Singapore, Bahrain, Kenya, and British Indian Ocean Territory.
• On Afghanistan: India reiterated its support for a peaceful, stable and secure Afghanistan and for an inclusive and representative government. 
  • It is also necessary that Afghan territory is not used to spread terrorism in other countries.

Areas of Cooperation

• Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: Despite the challenge posed by the Ukraine crisis, the India-U.K. relationship has been on an upward trajectory, exemplified by the conclusion of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021.
  • The agreement also established a 2030 Roadmap for India-U.K. relations, which primarily outlines the partnership plans for the bilateral relationship.
• Climate Change: UK PM and Prime Minister Narendra Modi last met on the sidelines of the COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021 where both leaders focused on the India–U.K. Climate Partnership. 
• Military exercise: In 2021, HMS Queen Elizabeth and the Carrier Strike Group took part in a military exercise with the Indian Navy in the Bay of Bengal.
• New Areas of Cooperation: The newer areas of cooperation — namely, fintech, market regulation, sustainable and green finance, and cyber security — have emerged as the new frontiers of engagement.
  • The notable success of the collaboration with Oxford-Astra Zeneca and the Serum Institute of India in producing Covishield vaccines in India has been just one of many instances of potential successful cooperation. 

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Challenges

• Legacy Issues: India’s post-colonial engagement with Britain has been riddled with multiple contradictions. India’s lingering post-colonial resentments and the UK’s unacceptable claim for a special role in the Subcontinent generated unending friction.
  • Both India and the U.K. are serious about overcoming legacy issues and engaging in robust dialogues to promote cooperation on strategic and defence issues both in the Indo-Pacific as well as at the global level.
• Domestic Dynamics of Britain: The domestic dynamics of Britain have also tended to sour ties with India.
  • For a long, it was a reigning assumption in Delhi that the Labour Party was empathetic to India while the Conservative Party was not.
  • Although this view turned out to be quite the opposite, antipathy towards India existed in one way or the other.
    • The Labour Party had become rather hostile to India’s internal matters, including Kashmir.

Conclusion

• As India seeks to carve out a new role for itself in the evolving global order as a ‘leading power’ and the U.K. recalibrates its strategic outlook post-Brexit, this is a unique moment in India-U.K. ties.
• The visit of the UK PM signifies the importance of India’s role in the dynamically changing global order.
• New geopolitical realities demand a new strategic vision. It is time to seize the moment and lay the foundations of a partnership that can respond adequately to the challenges of the 21st century.

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