London, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday appointed David Lammy as his new foreign secretary, as the newly appointed prime minister began the process of forming a Labor Party government after winning the general election in a landslide. .
The 51-year-old Labor politician and lawyer, who has been a strong advocate of strong bilateral ties with India and referred to External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar as a "friend", told the Global Forum last week of India in London who intends to visit India within the first month of his term if his party is elected to govern in Thursday's elections.
"We look forward to continuing our commitment and strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," Dr. Jaishankar posted on X, in his congratulatory message.
Speaking after being appointed to one of the UK government's highest posts, Lammy said: “It is the honor of a lifetime to be appointed Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.
“The world faces huge challenges, but we will overcome them with the UK's enormous strengths. “We will reconnect Britain for our domestic security and prosperity.” Last week, referring to the failure to meet the Diwali 2022 deadline set by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA), he noted that “many Diwali have come and gone without a trade deal.” and too many companies have been left waiting.
"My message to [Finance] Minister [Nirmala] Sitharaman and [Commerce] Minister [Piyush] Goyal is that the Labor Party is ready to go. Let's finally conclude our free trade agreement and move on," he said.
Describing India as a “priority” for the party and an “economic, technological and cultural superpower”, Lammy had sought to set the tone for his future tenure in a Labour-led cabinet as foreign secretary.
“With the Labor Party, gone are the days of Boris Johnson reciting that old Rudyard Kipling verse in Asia. If I recite a poem in India, it will be Tagore... because with a superpower like India the areas of cooperation and the areas of learning are limitless,” he said.
From a broader foreign policy perspective, Lammy emphasized a "free and open Indo-Pacific" working in partnership with India.
“We defend a rules-based order and are against those who wish to redraw borders by force with a new form of imperialism, like [Russian President] Putin in Europe; and those in Asia who wish to impose their will on their neighbors by denying them free choice,” he said.
“Europe and Asia are not two separate worlds… In this challenging environment, Britain will remain and seek to intensify the security partnership with India: from military to maritime security, from cyber to critical and emerging technologies, from defense and industrial cooperation. to supply chain security,” Lammy added.
Earlier this year, when he launched Labour's Indian diaspora outreach organization at the Parliament complex, Lammy had first pledged that his party would “finish the job” of an FTA with India, which aims is to improve the £38.1bn bilateral partnership but which is stagnating. in the fourteenth round of negotiations.
"We also wanted to convey the message that we see the trade deal as the floor, not the ceiling, in the relationship with India because there is so much more we can do in all areas," he said.
The 51-year-old Labor politician and lawyer, who has been a strong advocate of strong bilateral ties with India and referred to External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar as a "friend", told the Global Forum last week of India in London who intends to visit India within the first month of his term if his party is elected to govern in Thursday's elections.
"We look forward to continuing our commitment and strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," Dr. Jaishankar posted on X, in his congratulatory message.
Speaking after being appointed to one of the UK government's highest posts, Lammy said: “It is the honor of a lifetime to be appointed Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.
“The world faces huge challenges, but we will overcome them with the UK's enormous strengths. “We will reconnect Britain for our domestic security and prosperity.” Last week, referring to the failure to meet the Diwali 2022 deadline set by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA), he noted that “many Diwali have come and gone without a trade deal.” and too many companies have been left waiting.
"My message to [Finance] Minister [Nirmala] Sitharaman and [Commerce] Minister [Piyush] Goyal is that the Labor Party is ready to go. Let's finally conclude our free trade agreement and move on," he said.
Describing India as a “priority” for the party and an “economic, technological and cultural superpower”, Lammy had sought to set the tone for his future tenure in a Labour-led cabinet as foreign secretary.
“With the Labor Party, gone are the days of Boris Johnson reciting that old Rudyard Kipling verse in Asia. If I recite a poem in India, it will be Tagore... because with a superpower like India the areas of cooperation and the areas of learning are limitless,” he said.
From a broader foreign policy perspective, Lammy emphasized a "free and open Indo-Pacific" working in partnership with India.
“We defend a rules-based order and are against those who wish to redraw borders by force with a new form of imperialism, like [Russian President] Putin in Europe; and those in Asia who wish to impose their will on their neighbors by denying them free choice,” he said.
“Europe and Asia are not two separate worlds… In this challenging environment, Britain will remain and seek to intensify the security partnership with India: from military to maritime security, from cyber to critical and emerging technologies, from defense and industrial cooperation. to supply chain security,” Lammy added.
Earlier this year, when he launched Labour's Indian diaspora outreach organization at the Parliament complex, Lammy had first pledged that his party would “finish the job” of an FTA with India, which aims is to improve the £38.1bn bilateral partnership but which is stagnating. in the fourteenth round of negotiations.
"We also wanted to convey the message that we see the trade deal as the floor, not the ceiling, in the relationship with India because there is so much more we can do in all areas," he said.
