New Delhi: UK foreign secretary Liz Truss defeated Indian-origin former chancellor Rishi Sunak to become the next PM of the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated Liz Truss and expressed confidence that the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will be further strengthened under her leadership.
Congratulations @trussliz for being chosen to be the next PM of the UK. Confident that under your leadership, the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will be further strengthened,” Modi said in a tweet.
“Wish you the very best for your new role and responsibilities,” he said.
Truss had visited India and held virtual talks with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, during which she described the country as a “big, major opportunity”.
“I am honoured to be elected Leader of the Conservative Party. Thank you for putting your trust in me to lead and deliver for our great country. I will take bold action to get all of us through these tough times, grow our economy, and unleash the United Kingdom’s potential,” she tweeted on Monday.
“I see the U.K. and India in a sweet spot of the trade dynamics that are building up,” said Truss soon after signing the ETP.
“We are looking at a comprehensive trade agreement that covers everything, from financial services to legal services to digital and data, as well as goods and agriculture. We think there is strong possibility for us to get an early agreement, where we lower tariffs on both sides and start to see more goods flowing between our two countries,” she said.
She has repeatedly flagged coordination in defence and security sectors with the Indo-Pacific region in order to create a counter-balance to the aggression of Russia and China.