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Efforts to give a new impetus to the Commonwealth and UK-India bilateral relations will get under way on Monday when the Commonwealth Business Forum kicks off in London, ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which will see the participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It will take place alongside his bilateral visit to the UK, in which a range of issues – from immigration, technology cooperation and education – will be in the frame as part of efforts to strengthen ties ahead of Brexit.
The Commonwealth Business Forum, which brings together business leaders and political figures from across the Commonwealth, will explore ways to raise intra-Commonwealth trade from around $525 billion in 2015 to around $700 billion by 2020 – it will also look at some of the contemporary challenges and opportunities around technology, skills and protectionism.
Ahead of the CHOGM meetings on Thursday and Friday, Modi will arrive in the UK for a bilateral visit, in which he will hold meetings with Prime Minister Theresa May, Prince Charles and the Queen, alongside a diaspora event in central London.
The latter will be on a smaller scale compared to the massive event at Wembley stadium, which was attended by around 60,000 during his last bilateral visit to the UK, but will involve a speech followed by a question-and-answer session, with questions taken both from the audience and via live link ups from across the world.
British Prime Minister Theresa May
Post-Brexit security
The two meetings with Modi will be seen as part of efforts by Britain to emphasise its eagerness to forge closer ties with India, amid growing scepticism and concern about Britain’s ability to secure lucrative post-Brexit trade deals.
A memorandum of understanding on the return of illegal migrants to India will be formally signed. Other UK-India agreements are set to be reached, including the setting up of an Ayurveda research centre in the UK, though it remains to be seen whether any move will be made to respond to Indian concerns around Britain’s immigration regime, which India has repeatedly stressed is key to a future relationship.
Also to be seen is in what format Britain raises issues around the treatment of religious minorities in India, and the detention of Jagtar Singh Johal, a British citizen who remains in custody in India after being arrested last year. British ministers have said both these issues would be raised during Modi’s visit, though these would be made privately rather than through “megaphone diplomacy”.
With an Indian diaspora of around 1.4 million, Modi’s visit will attract much attention. A number of rallies – both to protest and support Modi – are being planned during and ahead of the visit. They include the South Asia Solidarity group, which will be holding a protest outside Downing Street, over attacks on religious minorities, dalits and the media.
The UK Sikh Federation will also hold a protest, which is likely to centre around Johal’s detention, while another will be organised by the Member of the House of Lords, Nazir Ahmed, who, on Monday, will raise a question in the House of Lords on the “peaceful resolution” to conflicts in Kashmir, Punjab and other north-eastern States.
Another protest will take place by the group, Action for Elephants, calling on the Indian government to enforce laws to protect temple elephants.
A rally in support of Modi is also due to take place outside the diaspora event venue on Wednesday.
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