Modi to Visit UK, Maldives in 2 Nation Tour

New Delhi: The government on Sunday officially announced the two-nation, four-day visit this week of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Britain and the Maldives from July 23 to 26. In Britain, he is likely to sign the Free Trade Agreement between the two nations that was reached a few months ago, though this is yet to be officially announced. The signing is likely to take place on July 24.

The MEA said in a statement that Modi, at the invitation of British PM Sir Keir Starmer, will pay an official visit to the UK on July 23-24, which will be his fourth visit to Britain. During the visit, Prime Minister Modi will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Starmer on the entire gamut of India-UK ties. They will also exchange views on issues of regional and global importance. Modi is also expected to call on King Charles III. “The two Prime Ministers will also review the progress of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with specific focus on trade and economy, technology and innovation, defence and security, climate, health, education and people-to-people ties”, the MEA statement said.

During the visit, the bilateral Free trade Agreement announced by the two nations two and a half months ago on May 6 is likely to be signed on July 24, although there is no mention of this in Sunday’s statement. The two PMs had on May 6 announced a “successful conclusion of an ambitious and mutually beneficial India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) along with the Double Contribution Convention”, which the two leaders had described as a “historic milestone in the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that would foster trade, investment, innovation and job creation in both the economies”. Britain had said the FTA would “slash Indian tariffs on key products such as whisky, cosmetics and medical devices, locking in reductions on 90 per cent of tariff lines for UK exports to unleash opportunities for businesses across regions and nations of the UK, with 85 per cent of these becoming fully tariff-free within a decade”. India had said the FTA “ensures comprehensive market access for goods, across all sectors, covering all of India’s export interests”, and that the FTA “opens up massive export opportunities for labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, marine products, leather, footwear, sports goods and toys, gems and jewellery, and other important sectors such as engineering goods, auto parts and engines, and organic chemicals”. It had also mentioned a “significant boost to trade in services, such as IT/ITeS, financial services, professional services, other business services and educational services.

On the second leg of his visit to India’s south-western maritime neighbour, the MEA said: “The Prime Minister will undertake a state visit to Maldives on July 25-26, 2025, at the invitation of President Mohamed Muizzu. This will be the PM’s third visit to the Maldives, and the first by a head of state or government during the presidency of Mohamed Muizzu. The Prime Minister will be the ‘guest of honour’ at the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Independence of Maldives on July 26, 2025. During the visit, the PM will meet Muizzu and hold discussions on issues of mutual interest. The two leaders will also take stock of the progress in the implementation of the India-Maldives Joint Vision for a ‘Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership’, adopted during the state visit of the Maldives President to India in October 2024.”

It may be recalled that in October last year after talks between Modi and President Muizzu, the two nations had announced a Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security partnership and had also signed five pacts, including a Currency Swap Agreement of $400 million along with Rs 3,000 crores that Muizzu had said would be “instrumental in addressing the foreign exchange issues” facing his country. Praising India, Maldivian foreign minister Abdulla Khaleel had also referred to the Indian assistance, including grants, as “transformative” and added that the Greater Male connectivity project (with Indian assistance) “will transform the economic landscape” of his country.

The turnaround in ties between the two nations is seen as a huge foreign policy success for India as it was earlier widely perceived that the Maldives President was hostile to India and close to China.