India's External Affairs Minister meets UK counterpart, discusses bilateral ties amid Ukraine crisis

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his UK counterpart Liz Truss on Thursday and talked about the growing ties between the two countries even amid ‘geopolitical situations’ during the delegation-level talks between the two sides.

“I think the roadmap 2030 has progressed quite substantially. In all of this, we have had geopolitical situations, quite apart from COVID which had its impact earlier,” Jaishankar said in the meeting referring to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. “There is a lot that we need to talk about but there’s also a lot that we need to work on. I’m particularly pleased that we are doing the Strategic Futures Forum. I think that’s a good public indication of a sort of re-energised relationship,” Jaishankar further said.

“It’s very good to be back in India for the third time in just over a year and it’s great to see you again Dr Jaishankar and to be able to progress our Roadmap 2030 which is of great importance to both our countries,” Truss said in her remarks at the meeting.

“It’s very important for the UK that we are improving our economic, security & defence relationships because we are living in a more unstable world. That’s why we are strengthening our work with India,” she further said.

Talking about the Ukraine conflict, she said, “Of course, it’s a vital time in global security in the wake of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. It’s essential to respect the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and international law.”

Earlier on Thursday, Jaishankar had welcomed his British counterpart and said that he was looking forward to their discussion later on Thursday.

“A warm welcome to UK Foreign Secretary @trussliz in New Delhi. Look forward to our discussions today. Working together to realise Roadmap 2030,” Jaishankar had said.

The Roadmap 2030 for India-UK future relations was launched during a virtual summit between the two countries in May last year.

The Roadmap 2030 vision is for revitalised and dynamic connections between “our people, re-energised trade, investment and technological collaboration that improves the lives and livelihoods of our citizens, enhanced defence and security cooperation,” according to the Ministry of External Affairs.