India and UK launch tech initiative as new British foreign minister makes his first official visit

NEW DELHI (AP) — India and the United Kingdom launched a new technology security initiative expected to boost economic growth and deepen collaboration, the two countries announced during the first official visit to India by the new British foreign secretary.

According to the agreement, which was announced late Wednesday, the two countries will work together on crucial technologies, from critical minerals and AI to semiconductors and telecoms. It will also strengthen cooperation on issues like climate, trade, technology and education, according to a statement released by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy's office.

“This will mean real action together on the challenges of the future from AI to critical minerals. Together we can unlock mutual growth, boost innovation, jobs and investment," Lammy said.

In talks with his counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the two also agreed to boost defense and security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, and discussed global issues including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a statement from the Indian Foreign Ministry.

Lammy said his trip to India reflects one of the new government’s top foreign policy priorities: a reset with Europe, both on climate and with the Global South.

Britain's new Labour Party government, which swept the polls in the July 4 election, says it wants to “reset and relaunch” U.K.-India relations, particularly by restarting formal talks that began in 2022 on a free trade agreement hailed by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a key goal after Britain’s departure from the European Union in 2020.

Lammy also met with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said he welcomed the new technology security initiative. Modi also said India was looking forward to settling on a free trade agreement in a post on social media platform X.

The trade deal was aimed at doubling the two countries’ trade from its 2022 level of $50 billion by 2030. Johnson famously promised to have a deal done by Diwali in October of that year.

The two countries held 13 rounds of negotiations without a breakthrough before talks were suspended while both nations held 2024 general elections.

___

Associated Press journalist Jill Lawless contributed from London.