Transcript of Special Briefing by MEA on Prime Minister's visit to the UK & Maldives (July 22, 2025)
India - Ministry of External Affairs
July 22, 2025
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you to this special press briefing by Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri on Prime Minister's upcoming visit to the UK and Maldives. We are also joined by Shri Puneet Agrawal, Additional Secretary IOR Region in the Ministry of External Affairs, as also Shri Piyush Srivastava, Additional Secretary Europe West Division in the Ministry of External Affairs.
With that, I invite Foreign Secretary Sir to make his opening remarks on the visit. Sir.
Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: Thank you. Good afternoon to all of you. You would have already seen the press release that was issued a couple of days ago with regard to Prime Minister's upcoming visits to the United Kingdom and the Maldives. So let me just supplement those with a little bit more information.
The Prime Minister will be embarking on an official visit to the United Kingdom tomorrow, the 23rd of July, for discussions during the visit with the Rt. Hon. Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. And during the visit, he will also call on His Majesty King Charles III. There is also, during the visit, interaction that is planned with business leaders, both from India and the United Kingdom.
This will be Prime Minister's fourth visit to the United Kingdom since assuming office. He has visited previously in 2015 and 2018, and he was there in 2021 for the COP26 summit in Glasgow. Within the last year itself, Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Starmer have already met twice, first on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro last year, and more recently, just last month, in June, in Kananaskis in Canada, on the sidelines of the G7 summit. And of course, they've been in touch on the phone a number of times.
This visit, though a short one, will give both leaders the opportunity to review the entire gamut of the bilateral relationship and discuss ways to strengthen it further, and also discuss issues that are of regional and global relevance. The India-UK partnership, as you're aware, was upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021, and since then has seen regular high-level political exchanges, and both sides remain committed to taking this partnership to even higher levels.
Apart from the summit-level engagements, there are regular engagements at the level of External Affairs Minister and his counterpart, the British Foreign Secretary, and there are several other institutional mechanisms at ministerial level, dealing with strategic issues, financial, economic, energy-related issues, as well as science and technology. In the contemporary times, the sectors of business, technology, research, education, innovation, the knowledge economy have emerged as key pillars of our bilateral cooperation.
The Technology Security Initiative, for instance, which is coming up to its one-year anniversary, was signed last year and is a major indicator of where we are taking our ties in critical and emerging technologies sphere. The University of Southampton, some of you would be aware, recently opened a campus in Gurugram, just last week actually, and this is the first foreign university to open a campus in India under the New Education Policy. Just for your information, there are several other UK universities, apart from universities in other countries ... several other UK universities that are also considering opening campuses in India under the same policy.
Some other facts and figures about this very important relationship are bilateral trade crossed $55 billion in 2023-24. The UK is also the sixth largest investor in India, with a cumulative investment of $36 billion. Interestingly, India itself is a large source of Foreign Direct Investment in the UK, with a cumulative investment of close to $20 billion. There are close to a thousand Indian companies in the UK that provide employment to nearly 100,000 people and have a cumulative revenue of over $91 billion.
The other important aspect I wanted to point to was the UK-India infrastructure financing bridge, which is coordinated between NITI Aayog on our side and the City of London on the UK side, and this mechanism works to avail UK expertise in mobilizing finance for green infrastructure projects and in the renewable energy sector in India.
In the defense sector, we are seeing regular interactions and exercises amongst all three branches of the armed forces. We have placed military instructors at each other's military academies, and one of the more significant partnership projects that we have embarked on in recent times is the agreement to look at electric propulsion capability between the two countries.
In the health sector, all of you would be aware of the flagship cooperation between our two countries, whereby the Serum Institute of India partnered with Oxford University to develop the Covishield vaccine. More recently, the same two partners have come together to co-develop a malaria vaccine, which was approved by the WHO in 2023. The UK, as I said, continues to be a very large research and innovation partner for India.
I mentioned the Technology Security Initiative (TSI) a short while ago, and some of the key areas in which the TSI works are telecom, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, semiconductors, advanced materials, and quantum computing.
One of the most important, probably the foundational aspects of this relationship is the living bridge that connects India and the UK, people of Indian origin in the UK, nearly 1.8 million strong Indian diaspora, which has contributed to strengthening bonds of friendship between our two countries, but has also made extremely valuable contributions to UK economy and society.
Let me turn to Prime Minister's visit to Maldives, which will take place on the 25th and 26th of July 2025. This is a state visit that he will be embarking on at the invitation of His Excellency President Muizzu of the Maldives.
You would recall that President Muizzu was on a state visit to India in October 2024. Before that, he had come to India for the swearing-in ceremony of the new government that had been elected. And Prime Minister and Dr. Muizzu had met earlier as well in Dubai for the COP meeting. The Prime Minister on this occasion will be the guest of honor at celebrations to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the independence of the Maldives, which is on the 26th of July 2025. As a coincidence, 2025 also happens to be the year when our two countries, India and the Maldives, are observing and marking 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
The Prime Minister's state visit also happens to be the first state visit of a head of government that President Muizzu is hosting in his presidency since he assumed the office in November 2023. Prime Minister, as you are aware, has been to Maldives earlier in 2018 and 2019, and this would be his third visit to the Maldives.
Maldives is, as you all know, a very close partner in our neighborhood, a very important partner in India's Neighborhood First policy, and as part of the MAHASAGAR vision of India, which is Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.
We have always been the first on hand to respond to the needs of Maldives in times whenever it has faced crises, natural or manmade. There has been a robust political relationship which as discussed, bolstered by regular visits at high levels. I referred to President Muizzu's visit here in October 2024, when the two leaders adopted a joint vision for an India-Maldives comprehensive economic and maritime security partnership. This joint vision, in a sense, has become the guiding framework for our ties, and this year, already in the first six months, we have seen nearly half a dozen ministerial-level visits from the Maldives. The Speaker of the Maldives Parliament has visited India. In fact, the very first engagement this year that the External Affairs Minister held was with the Foreign Minister of the Maldives.
On the economic front, India is one of the largest trading partners of the Maldives. Bilateral trade is nearly $500 million, and India continues to be ... Indian investors remain part of sectors such as tourism in the Maldives and other economic activities. On the economic front, one recent development which I would like to share with you is that both countries are in discussions to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement and an Investment Treaty as well. And new areas of cooperation, including renewable energy, fisheries, et cetera, are also being worked on.
One of the largest areas of bilateral cooperation is the development partnership between the two countries. India has been a traditional development partner of the Maldives, executing various initiatives through a mix of lines of credit at concessional rates, grants, buyer's credit facilities, as also conducting capacity-building programs in a number of areas.
The flagship project that is underway currently is the Greater Malé Connectivity Project, which has the potential to be an infrastructure game changer in the Greater Malé region, connecting four islands of the Maldives. There are also projects underway in the area of roads, airports, fisheries processing units, and others. We are also alleviating the pressure by helping with social housing as per the needs and priorities of Maldives.
And you would be aware also that we've extended a considerable amount of emergency financial assistance to the Government of Maldives, including through instruments such as the twin currency swap arrangements that were done when President Muizzu was also here for 400 million US dollars, as well as 30 billion Indian rupees. In addition, the State Bank of India has continued to re-subscribe to Maldives treasury bills. Maldives is also one of the largest beneficiaries of our capacity-building programs, and through scholarships and trainings that we take this forward.
We also have, between the two countries, robust defense and security cooperation. India continues to assist Maldives in building its capacity, train Maldives' defense personnel, and a lot of this is done through regular training programs, naval exercises between the two countries. We've been helping Maldives enhance its capacity for EEZ surveillance and maritime domain awareness through the provision of ships and assets. And the two countries are also cooperating under the ambit of the Colombo Security Conclave.
The program of the Prime Minister in the Maldives will include, of course, holding the bilateral official meetings with the Maldives President. There are some infrastructure projects that will be inaugurated. The details of that are still being finalized, and we will also make some announcements in terms of some new initiatives.
The relationship with the Maldives is comprehensive and multifaceted. It's been paid attention to by leadership at the highest levels, and we believe that this visit by the Prime Minister will contribute further to consolidating these strong ties and contribute to peace, prosperity, and security in the Indian Ocean region that both of us inhabit.
So let me stop there. If you have any questions, I'll try and respond to them.
Sumita: Sir, could you please comment on the reports that suggest that there could be a signing of the FTA document by the Prime Minister, and if a date could also be confirmed? And the likely outcomes that you're expecting, particularly with respect to the Prime Minister's visit to the United Kingdom? Thank you.
Rishabh, Times Now: Good afternoon, Sir. This is Rishabh from Times Now. I have two questions, one on UK and one on Maldives. First, sir, will there be discussions around the fugitives who are right now in the United Kingdom? I'm talking about like Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, as well as Vijay Mallya.
And in Maldives, will there be discussion around hydrographic survey and also the defense partnership when we are talking? Will there be return of Indian troops for the maintenance of the platforms that India has given to Maldives?
Sidhant Sibal, WION: Hi, Sir. Sidhant from WION. Sir, on UK, how much there will be discussion on the Khalistani issue, which has been a concern for India in the past? The Khalistani extremists have been indulging in vandalization of the Indian mission and all those developments.
On Maldives, my question is a very generic question because one year ago, the relationship was looking very bad. What basically transpired in terms of this major turnaround in the relationship that today we are seeing the relationship going in a very positive direction?
Krishnamohan Sharma, Bharat Express: Sir, Krishnamohan Sharma, Bharat Express se. UK aur India ke beech mei extradition treaty hain, but bahot saare challenges is baat ko le kar face kiye jate hain ki hamare yahan jo prisoners' ki conditions hain woh thick nahi hain, aur is bahane se bahot saare fugitives wahan se yahan pe bheje nahi jate hain, is pe koi charcha hogi kya?
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, Krishnamohan Sharma from Bharat Express. There is an extradition treaty between the UK and India, but many challenges are faced stating that the conditions of our prisons here are not considered adequate. And using this as a reason, many fugitives are not sent back from there to here. Will there be any discussion on this?
Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: Thank you. I think your question with regard to the FTA with the UK, you are aware that there was a conversation on the 6th of May between the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of the UK where an announcement had been made that the two sides had concluded negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement and other issues. Since then, the two sides have been in very close touch with each other.
There is the obvious legal scrubbing, et cetera, that any such agreement needs to go through. We are continuing to work on those and last-minute work on that is continuing. And let me just say at this stage that we will update you on the final details related to this at the appropriate time.
There are a few questions related to fugitives from Indian law and Indian justice in the UK. These have been a matter of discussion between both sides, and we have continued to make the case for these fugitives to be rendered to India. Obviously, there is a legal process that such requests and such issues go through in the other country, and we continue to follow up very closely with our partners in the UK on these matters.
The issue of the presence of Khalistani extremists and bodies close to these people is again something that we have brought to the attention of our partners in the UK. We will continue to do so. This is a matter of concern not only to us, but it should be a matter of concern to our partners as well, because this impacts social cohesion and social order in these other countries as well.
Aap ka jo saval tha prison conditions ko leke, iske bare mein bat chit hoti rahi hai aur dono desh ke jo andruni mamlo ke vibhag hain jo Mantralay hain humari taraf se Gruh Mantralay hai, unki taraf se jo Mantralay hai, unke beech mein in chezo ke upar bat chit chal rahi hai, aur aage bhi chalti rahegi. Aur humari koshish ye rahegi ki unko dikhlane ke liye ki ye sab chezen jo hum unse humari jo mange hain unko pura kiya ja sakta hai aur unke jo kuch vichar hain inko unko hum dekh sakte hain, aisi bat nahi hai ki Bharat mein log nahi laye gaye hain aap jante hain recently Tahawwur Rana ko extradite kiya gaya tha usme bhi aisi chezen thi. Ye kam hum kar sakte hain, ye koi badi bat nahi hai.
[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] Your question was regarding prison conditions. This matter has been under discussion, and the internal affairs departments of both countries — on our side, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and on their side, their respective department — have been in talks on these issues, and such discussions will continue going forward. Our effort will be to demonstrate that the concerns they've raised can be addressed, and that the requests we've made to them can be fulfilled. It's not the case that people haven't been extradited to India — as you know, recently Tahawwur Rana was extradited, and similar issues were involved in that case too. This is something we are capable of doing.
Finally, I think Sidhant had a question on the turnaround in the Maldives. It's a question of working hard at a relationship. There will always be events that will impact or try to intrude on the relationship. But I think this is testimony to the kind of attention that has been paid to the relationship and including attention at the highest levels that has been paid to the relationship. We've continued to work at it, and I think the result is there for you to see. I think we have also been in very close discussions with our partners in the Maldives to provide clarity and assurances about what it is that we want to do bilaterally, and I think the result is there for all to see.
With regard to the assets that we have provided them, they continue to function there with the appropriate personnel to manage them and to assist the Maldives authorities in using them for the best possible results.
Keshav Padmanabhan, ThePrint: Foreign Secretary, thank you. This is Keshav Padmanabhan from ThePrint. I have two questions, if you permit me. One on the UK, one on Maldives.
On UK, sir, there have been a lot of conversations within NATO countries, of which UK is a founding member, on secondary sanctions on India due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, the EU has come up with the latest sanction package. So how do you see this discussion on the Russia-Ukraine war being raised during the meeting between the two Prime Ministers, and whether there will be any pushback on the actions that the UK may think on taking against India with regards to this?
On Maldives, sir, like you mentioned, there's been a large development partnership, the twin instruments of 400 million US dollars plus 3,000 crores as currency swap agreements from last year, as well as 100 million dollars in aid that's been rolled over. So, are you looking at expanding the development aid during the Prime Minister's visit?
And can you give us a sense of how much of, for example, the currency swap agreements have been operationalized and utilized to give us a better sense of that partnership? Thank you, sir.
Ayushi Agarwal, ANI: Sir, this is Ayushi Agarwal from ANI. Sir, any progress in timeline or establishing a Maldivian consulate in Bangalore; an Indian consulate in Addu that were announced in October last year during President Muizzu's visit to India?
Siddhant Mishra, CNN-News18: Hi Foreign Secretary, I'm Siddhant from CNN News 18. Sir, my question is that will we be explaining to our partners ... UK about TRF's role in Pahalgam terror attack? Will we be using this opportunity? Thank you.
Niraj, News 18 India: Sir, Namaste. Niraj hoon News 18 India se. Maldive ke sath do saal pahle samband jab bigde the to Bharatiya paryatakon ki sankhya, Maldive jane walen jo the, unki sankhya me bahut girawat aayi thi. Uske baad Maldive sarkar ne bahut koshish bhi ki thi ki Bharat se paryatak jae. Bharat ka kya expectation Maldive se hai ki jyada paryatak waha pahunche? Bharat kya expect karta Maldive se?
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, Namaste. I'm Niraj from News18 India. When relations with the Maldives had deteriorated two years ago, the number of Indian tourists traveling to the Maldives saw a significant decline. After that, the Maldivian government made considerable efforts to encourage Indian tourists to visit. What are India's expectations from the Maldives in this regard? Does India expect more tourists to travel there? What exactly does India expect from the Maldives?
Rishikesh, PTI: Sir, Rishikesh from PTI. Will there be any meeting with opposition leaders in Maldives? And the second question, with the public debt of Maldives reaching around 135% of the GDP, and also Maldives have to pay around 1.6 billion dollar by next year. So, is there any proposals to assist Maldives in this regard so that they could avoid default?
Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: With regard to the question on discussions with the UK on what are obviously developments in which they are interested, we would also want to exchange thoughts and opinions on these issues. We have not yet seen any actions by the UK so far as matters related to secondary sanctions etc. are concerned.
In any case, we have made very clear our view with regard to secondary sanctions. I think what you are pointing to in terms of the recent announcement by the European Union, we have been very clear that in so far as energy security is concerned, it is the highest priority of the government of India to provide energy security for the people of India and we will do what we need to do with regard to that.
On energy related issues itself also, as we have said previously, it is important not to have double standards and to have a clear-eyed perception of what the global situation is in so far as the broader energy market is concerned and where the providers of energy goods are located and where they are going to come from and who needs energy at what point in time.
I think these matters are not appreciated sufficiently. We do understand that there is an important and serious security issue that is confronting Europe, but the rest of the world is also there and is also dealing with issues that are existential for the rest of the world. And I think it is important to keep balance and perspective when talking about these issues.
In so far as expanding the development partnership with the Maldives is concerned, as I said, there are a number of initiatives that are being looked at and during the visit, please stay tuned, there are likely to be further announcements related to the development partnership itself.
On consulates in each other's countries, these matters continue to be discussed between the two sides. We are in very close touch on these. We will update you on the developments on these.
On the TRF role in Pahalgam, you are aware of recent developments also in that regard. The United States State Department has recently designated the TRF as a foreign terrorist organization and a specially designated global terrorist and a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. I am sure our UK colleagues are updated on this development, but this will give us the opportunity to share further views on issues such as cross-border terrorism and the need to respond in resolute fashion to such challenges.
Niraj, aapka prashn tha ki jo Maldives mein paryatako ki sankhya hai unko badhane ke vishay mein hamari kya apeksha hai Maldives se. Aapko shayad jankari hogi iske bare mein ki dono desho ke beech kuch samay se baat chit chal rahi hai kai aise vishayon pe jo isme sahuliyat pradan kar sakte hain, jaise humne jahan tak trade ka sawal hai waha to local currency settlement system ki baat chit dono desho ke beech mein chal rahi hai, jahan tak paryatan ka sawal hai waha pe UPI jo kai aur desho ke sath hamara samjhota hua hai, Maldives ke sath bhi iske bare mein ek samjhota karne pe baat chit chal rahi hai isse paryatko ko kafi sahuliyat pahunch sakti hai aur jaisa hum hamesha kehte aa rahe hain isse paryatko ki jo sankhya hai usko badhava mil sakta hai, toh in chezo pe aage baat chit hogi aur is yatra ke dauran bhi is pe hum baat chit karna chahenge.
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Niraj, your question was about what expectations India has from the Maldives regarding increasing the number of tourists. You might already be aware that discussions have been ongoing between the two countries on several issues that could help facilitate this. For example, in terms of trade, both countries are in talks about establishing a local currency settlement system. As far as tourism is concerned, discussions are also underway about introducing UPI (Unified Payments Interface) in the Maldives — similar to agreements we've made with other countries. This could provide significant convenience to tourists. And as we have always maintained, such steps can help boost the number of tourists. So, these discussions will continue, and we also intend to raise these matters during this visit.
On meetings with opposition leaders, there are a number of meetings that are being planned. We'll update you as the visit comes closer on what exactly the itinerary will be.
And in so far as the issue related to the financial stability of Maldives is concerned; it is a fact that it has faced a stressful financial environment, and that is why we have been giving a helping hand to Maldives in order to stabilize the financial situation. Our recent assistance has led to accretion in the foreign exchange position of the Maldives, and it is this accretion, as a matter of fact, that has been cited by international financial organizations, including the IMF, as a positive factor that has helped Maldives stave off outcomes that could be difficult for it.
This is a dynamic situation. We remain in close touch with our friends and partners in the Maldives to see what else we can do. In any case, as far as the swaps are concerned, my understanding is that the 400 million dollar swap line has been drawn almost completely. Now, perhaps the 30 billion rupee Indian swap line will also be drawn upon. We will keep you posted on these developments as well.
Pranay Upadhyaya, TV Today: Pranay Upadhyaya from TV Today. Two clarifications. One on India-UK FTA. If you can give us the volume of this FTA, and which are the tariff lines and the areas excluded from this FTA?
On India-Maldives, there have been some infrastructure projects that got stalled due to the strain between the two countries in the recent past. What are the status of those projects? And what do we expect? How do we insulate our infrastructure projects and investment of India in the Maldives?
Neeraj Kumar Dubey, PrabhaSkashi: Sir namaskar, main Neeraj Dubey PrabhaSakshi se. Sir Bharat ke sahyog se Maldives mein kai sari vikas pariyojana chal rahi hain to pradhanamantri apne daure ke dauran kya kisi vikas pariyojana ka shilanyas udghatan karne wale hain, khas tor par Bharat ke sahyog se jo Maldives ka Raksha Mantralay ka naya bhavan bana hai uske bare mein.
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, Namaskar. I am Neeraj Dubey from PrabhaSakshi. With India's support, several development projects are currently underway in the Maldives. During the Prime Minister's visit, is he expected to inaugurate or lay the foundation stone for any such development projects — particularly the new building of the Maldivian Ministry of Defence that has been constructed with India's assistance?
Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: So, Pranay, insofar as the FTA exclusions are concerned; I think you might point this question at the Ministry of Commerce. They will be able to give you a more comprehensive answer on it. All I would say is that, from my knowledge of the negotiations when they were going on, is that this is a significant agreement. And therefore, the inclusions of tariff lines are likely to be, as and when you see the final details ... are likely to be equally significant. So, by implication, I think the exclusions may not be that many.
On Maldives projects, I think at the present moment, all the projects are underway. And I don't see any project that is facing any significant difficulty. Work is underway on all the projects.
Aur jahan tak ye sawal hai ki jo yatra ke dauran koi udghatan honge kisi projects ke, jaisa maine kaha kai projects hain jo ek tarah se samapan ke nikat hain aur agar sari details tab tak ho jati hain toh ho sakta hai ki udghatan ho ya koi ghoshna ho unke bare mein. Aapne MNDF ka zikr kiya, aap sahi hain ye ek building hai jis pe kafi kam hua hai ho sakta hai ki sari cheezen, jo formalities hain wo tab tak puri ho jaye aur iske bare mein bhi koi ghoshna ki ja sakti hai, lekin jo final details hai hum usko uske bare mein aapko update karte rahenge.
[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] As for the question regarding whether any project inaugurations will take place during the visit. As I mentioned, there are several projects that are nearing completion. If all the details are finalized by then, it is possible that some inaugurations or announcements may take place. You mentioned the MNDF (Maldives National Defense Force) building. You're right that significant work has been done on that project. It's possible that all formalities related to it may be completed in time, and an announcement could be made regarding it as well. However, we will keep you updated on the final details as they become clear.
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: With that, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the close of this press briefing. Thank you very much. We shall keep you updated on both the visits.
Thank you.
New Delhi
July 22, 2025
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