India and the UK 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 British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy.
According to the agreement, which was announced late on Wednesday, the two sides would work together on crucial technologies, from critical minerals and artificial intelligence (AI) to semiconductors and telecoms.
It would also strengthen cooperation on issues such as climate, trade, technology and education, a statement released by Lammy’s office said.
Photo: AP
“This will mean real action together on the challenges of the future from AI to critical minerals,” Lammy said. “Together we can unlock mutual growth, boost innovation, jobs and investment.”
In talks with Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the two also agreed to boost defense and security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, and discussed global issues including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a statement from the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Lammy said his trip to India reflects one of the new British government’s top foreign policy priorities: a reset with Europe on climate and with the global south.
Britain’s new Labour Party government, which swept the polls in the July 4 election, said it wants to “reset and relaunch” UK-India relations, particularly by restarting formal talks that began in 2022 on a free-trade agreement hailed by then-British prime minister Boris Johnson as a key goal after Britain’s departure from the EU in 2020.
Lammy also met with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said he welcomed the new technology security initiative.
Modi also wrote on X that India was looking forward to settling on a free-trade agreement.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS