Northwestern University

After a positive summit last year in Cornwall, it is great to see India returning to the G7 Summit this year; a clear illustration of India’s rising position as an influential and important player in the world.

Ongoing events – most notably the global pandemic and conflicts around the world (including most recently the Russian invasion of Ukraine – have shown that cooperation and collaboration with likeminded partners has never been more critical.

The UK and India have a deep and wide relationship, which is strengthening and impacting on critical issues such as trade, development, defence and security, and healthcare.

T r a d e t o G r o w The UK and India are currently negotiating a Free Trade Agreement, which seeks to grow trade, investment and collaboration between our two countries. As the 5th and 6th largest economies in the world, a UK-India FTA would help to create significant opportunities for both economies by making it easier for businesses to trade and invest within the UK-India corridor, building on the more than 550-strong UK businesses invested in India employing more than 400,000 people, and over 850 Indian companies in the UK employing over 95,000. Reducing the barriers to trade and cooperation would help to create more jobs, develop industry in both countries, and contribute to economic development.

W i d e r b u s i n e s s i m p a c t Increased trade and investment would also more widely support our populations’

AUTHOR: Kealan Finnegan

UK India Business Council

livelihoods. As well as UK businesses contributing to India’s development through investment, the jobs they create, the technology and knowledge they transfer, and the products and services they provide, they also contribute through the programmes and initiatives they run, through research, and training, in areas such as education, healthcare, digital technology, infrastructure, and energy. See some great examples in a recent UKIBC report.

Businesses all over the world are increasingly, and rightly, taking up their role in contributing to sustainable development and a positive societal impact. That includes supporting a greener future, helping to nurture widespread education, maintaining a healthy population, and upholding equality for all people. As this duty extends across national borders through trade and investment, the scope for international collaboration and learning is hugely

positive for wider society.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals are the universal framework for sustainable development, made up of 17 goals that cover all aspects of development, from hunger and sanitation, to industry and climate action. With India home to around 1/5 of the world’s population, close Indian involvement in seeking solutions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals will be critical to the world’s achievement. That is enough reason alone for India and the G7 countries to come closer and work together, but the positive development in these bilateral and multilateral corridors is also relevant the world over, as these leading countries simultaneously support third countries.

P a r t n e r s i n A d d r e s s i n g C l i m a t e C h a n g e At COP26, Prime Minister Johnson and Prime Minister Modi jointly announced three high-profile commitments that will see the UK and India work in partnership across renewable energy grids, finance, and disaster relief. This partnership between the UK and India leading together on a global stage is right and appropriate for the fifth and sixth largest economies in the world. Clearly, there is always more that can be done, but it is good to see action being taken.

D e f e n c e a n d S e c u r i t y C o l l a b o r a t i o n Defence cooperation between the UK and India has strengthened in recent years too, most visible when the UK Carrier Strike Group visited India last November. A greater UK-India defence and security partnership is a real win-win, which supports India’s defence modernisation goals. UK defence firms generally support India’s self-reliant mission ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and India’s push for defence manufacturing indigenisation. During PM Johnson’s visit to India, he and PM Modi jointly announced that our countries will work together to boost security in the Indo-Pacific, with support from the UK to collaborate with India on new fighter jet technology, helicopters and collaboration in the undersea battlespace. Greater cooperation between friends is evidently required in current times.

C o m b a t t i n g C o v i d a n d p a n d e m i c p r e p a r e d n e s s From the Oxford University, Astra Zeneca and Serum Institute of India collaboration on vaccines, to sharing critical PPE and oxygen in times of need, the UK and India have supported each other throughout the pandemic. The pandemic was mostly a reactive phenomenon that countries all around the world were underprepared for. Forging greater partnerships for similar scenarios in the future, and supporting populations now, is hugely positive.

All these areas of cooperation will benefit from an FTA as it is ultimately people and businesses that define a bilateral relationship. Businesses in both countries feel that rationalisation in tariffs, removal of nontariff barriers, data adequacy agreements, and protection of intellectual property will go a long way in creating meaningful opportunities for trade and investment. Sectors such as digital and ICT, food and drink, defence, healthcare and pharma, and heavy engineering will benefit, strengthening both countries’ economies through increased employment, security and economic contribution.

All this is underpinned by the people living in and between our two countries. This ‘Living Bridge’ binds our countries together and enables us to share ideas, expertise, and work on common goals.

The Indo-Pacific is where much of the world’s economic growth will take place in the coming decades. No wonder, therefore, that the UK and other G7 members have made it their missions to develop their relations in the region.

India’s ties with the UK, US, Canada, EU and Japan will be crucial for its technological and economic transformation. It will also be crucial for the world that our countries work together towards shared goals and shared prosperity. ■

D e f e n c e c o o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e U K a n d I n d i a h a s s t r e n g t h e n e d i n r e c e n t y e a r s t o o , m o s t v i s i b l e w h e n t h e U K C a r r i e r S t r i k e G r o u p v i s i t e d I n d i a l a s t N o v e m b e r . A g r e a t e r U K- I n d i a d e f e n c e a n d s e c u r i t y p a r t n e r s h i p i s a r e a l w i n - w i n , w h i c h s u p p o r t s I n d i a ’ s d e f e n c e m o d e r n i s a t i o n g o a l s .

O n h i s v i s i t t o T o k y o , F e d e r a l C h a n c e l l o r S c h o l z u n d e r l i n e d t h e c l o s e p a r t n e r s h i p b e t w e e n G e r m a n y a n d J a p a n . S c h o l z s t r e s s e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e p a r t n e r s h i p, n o t o n ly w i t h a v i e w t o s u p p o r t i n g U k r a i n e b u t i n i t s w i d e r c o n t e x t o f t h e I n d o - P a c i f i c r e g i o n a n d c h a l l e n g e s f o r t h e f u t u r e o f t h e w h o l e w o r l d s u c h a s c l i m a t e p r o t e c t i o n .

Federal Chancellor Scholz travelled to Japan to harmonise policy objectives on current issues with Germany’s close G7 partner. In a joint press conference at the end of their first meeting on Thursday, Federal Chancellor reflected on the initial outcomes of his talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Both leaders were unanimous in their condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

G e r m a n y a n d J a p a n a r e “ s h o u l d e r t o s h o u l d e r ” The Federal Chancellor expressed Germany’s gratitude to Japan for joining sanctions against Russia and for the support it is providing to Ukraine. Scholz said Germany and Japan were “shoulder to shoulder” in defending the United Nations Charter, the rules-based international order and human rights.

On the issue of Ukraine, Prime Minister Kishida said that the international status quo must not be changed through violence and unilateral action – something that also applied to the Indo-Pacific region. Kishida went on to say Japan was helping Ukraine in a range of ways. He expressed his gratitude for Germany’s offer to take Japanese aid supplies for Ukraine back on the Federal Chancellor’s official aircraft.

A g r e e m e n t o n r e g u l a r g o v e r n m e n t c o n s u l t a t i o n s The two heads of government underlined the close cooperation between Germany and Japan, not only in supporting Ukraine but also on other political issues such as global challenges around climate protection, securing supply chains and preserving free trade routes. Bilateral relations would be intensified and improved through regular government consultations starting next year, the two leaders said.

G 7 : J a p a n t a k e s o v e r P r e s i d e n c y i n 2023 Scholz and Kishida also stressed the importance of close coordination between the two countries within the framework of the G7, which provides for cooperation between the world’s major industrial nations. Germany currently holds the G7 Presidency, which Japan will take over next year.

F e d e r a l C h a n c e l l o r a t t e n d s b u s i n e s s c o n f e r e n c e Federal Chancellor Scholz began his visit to Japan on Thursday by taking part in the German-Japanese Business Dialogue conference. Following their one-to-one meeting, the Federal Chancellor and Prime Minister Kishida met senior business representatives. That evening the Federal Chancellor attended a dinner hosted by the Japanese Prime Minister.

Before returning to Germany on Friday, Scholz also visited a hydrogen production facility in the city of Kawasaki. The Federal Chancellor stressed Germany and Japan’s ambitious goals for climate challenges, “so it will also be important for us to collaborate on technology, such as on issues of the hydrogen energy economy”. For Scholz it was a matter of “developing a new global trade that simultaneously helps our countries become climate neutral industrial nations”. ■

T h e F e d e r a l C h a n c e l l o r e x p r e s s e d G e r m a n y ’ s g r a t i t u d e t o J a p a n f o r j o i n i n g s a n c t i o n s a g a i n s t R u s s i a a n d f o r t h e s u p p o r t i t i s p r o v i d i n g t o U k r a i n e . S c h o l z s a i d G e r m a n y a n d J a p a n w e r e “ s h o u l d e r t o s h o u l d e r ” i n d e f e n d i n g t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s C h a r t e r , t h e r u l e s - b a s e d i n t e r n a t i o n a l o r d e r a n d h u m a n r i g h t s .