"India's growth story is remarkable," UK PM Starmer says 'vision of 'Viksit Bharat' on track'

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 9 : United Kingdom's Prime Minister Keir Starmer noted that India's "growth story is remarkable" and said that he is convinced to see that India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a "track" to achieve the vision of a Visit Bharat by 2047.
"It is significant that we are meeting in Mumbai as India's economic and financial capital, because India's growth story is remarkable. I want to congratulate the PM on his leadership, aiming to be the world's 3rd largest economy by 2028. Your vision of Viksit Bharat is to make it a completely developed country by 2047. Everything I have seen since I have been here is absolute proof to me that you are on track to succeed in that. We want to be partners on that journey", said Starmer, who is on his first visit to India as UK Prime Minister.
Both leaders also held a bilateral meeting in Mumbai and issued a joint statement.
He also called the UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement a "breakthrough moment"
"...We are building something here, we are creating a new modern partnership focused on the future and availing the opportunities and we are doing it together. That is why we struck the UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in July, a breakthrough moment - years in the making, slashing tariffs, increasing access to each other's markets to drive growth and create jobs for our people and making life in both our nations. Beyond the words of the page of the Agreement, is the spirit of the confidence that it has given to our two great countries to work even more closely together, something which we have seen during the course of this visit here..."
He also underlined the efforts of India to bring an end to the Ukraine and the Gaza conflicts, and the India-UK relationship is working as a key supporter of global stability.
"In the current era of global uncertainty, the partnership between India and the UK continues to serve as an important pillar of global stability and economic progress."
"We shared views on peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and West Asia, as well as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. On the Ukraine conflict and the Gaza issue, India supports all efforts to restore peace through dialogue and diplomacy. We are fully committed to enhancing maritime security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region", he said.

Earlier the MEA in a post on X said, "Together for stronger India-UK ties.PM @narendramodi welcomes PM @Keir_Starmer of UK at Raj Bhawan, Mumbai."
https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1976158101750345819
On Wednesday, Starmer held a series of wide-ranging interactions in Mumbai. He met with business leaders and described the India-UK trade partnership as "really important".
The visit of the UK PM comes after Prime Minister Modi's trip to the UK in July, where the trade deal was signed and nearly £6 billion in new investment and export wins were confirmed, an official statement noted.