Shackles and ties: in the transitional period of the UK’s departure from the EU

With the transitional period of the UK’s departure from the EU (or Brexit) ending this month, the Boris Johnson government is beginning to consolidate its partnerships outside its region, and British Chancellor Dominic Raab’s visit to Delhi will be produced with an immediate and longer statement. forward targets for the India-UK relationship. His visit was also to pave the way for Prime Minister Johnson’s visit to India, as the main guest on Republic Day, and to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UK for the G-7 and Climate Change summits. (COP26) next year. Johnson will be the first head of government to visit India after the spread of COVID-19; This will also be his first bilateral visit to anywhere after Brexit, indicating the importance India and the UK attach to this chapter in ties. In what he called a “ten-year” roadmap for relations, Mr. Raab discussed with the Foreign Minister, S. Jaishankar and Mr. Modi, the enhancement of the 2004 India-UK Strategic Partnership to a “Comprehensive” Strategic Partnership, which envisions closer military ties, cooperation in Indo-Pacific strategies, fight against terrorism and fight against climate change. Now outside the EU, Britain is on a mission to secure free trade partners, and after closing nearly 20 trade deals, including the most recent with the US, Japan and Vietnam which will take effect from January 1 , Johnson hopes to announce the start of FTA talks with India during his visit. The highlight of India’s relations in the coming year will be closer cooperation on the coronavirus vaccine, with the Serum Institute set to produce and distribute the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine in India, and then as part of the COVAX project. to other developing countries.

The page turning on links, stalled for the past five years due to British concerns about Brexit, is welcome. The relationship has not progressed in this time, despite visits from Mr Modi and former British Prime Minister Theresa May. As a result, less important issues like visas and the fate of runaway Indian businessmen in the UK have been allowed to dominate the narrative. Over the past year, the MEA had responded vigorously to protests at the High Commission of India in London over the Article 370 movement in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. This month it was Britain’s concerns over farmers’ protests that sparked responses in New Delhi about interference in India’s internal affairs. Mr Raab’s explanation that, at times, the intense interest of the British Indian diaspora makes Indian politics a factor in British politics is a reminder of how closely linked the two countries remain. A new chapter in its post-COVID-19, post-Brexit relationship would necessarily imply the UK being more sensitive to India’s concerns, and India being less sensitive when Britain voices its concerns.