Cooperation on migration and security issues was on the agenda at a meeting between UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami here.
The envoy urged the Indian-origin cabinet minister on Tuesday to discuss the India-British security partnership and “make progress” under the India-British Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP).
The meeting follows Braverman’s controversial comments last month citing that the MMP is not doing very well in tackling illegal immigration and visa overstayers from India.
High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami today called on SE Home Secretary Suella Braverman to discuss India-British security cooperation and make progress under the India-British Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement, the India High Commission in London tweeted after the meeting.
Braverman, in turn, referred to the strong partnership between India and Great Britain. “I look forward to working with our friends on common interests such as security and migration,” she tweeted after the meeting.
It is seen as a conciliatory move after the Indian mission countered allegations by the Home Secretary that the deal with the Indian government to encourage and facilitate better cooperation on illegal migration was not necessarily working very well.
As of this writing, according to data shared with the Interior Ministry, action has been taken on all cases referred to the High Commission. In addition, the UK has committed to meeting certain obligations under the Migration and Mobility Protocol, on which we await demonstrable progress, the High Commissioner of India said in a statement last month.
It is a widely held view that Braverman, then home secretary in former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ cabinet, derailed ongoing negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the UK from their Diwali timetable by expressing “concerns” about the voiced what she feared would be an open borders policy for Indians.
Look at migration in this country, the largest group of overstay people are Indian migrants, she said at the time.
Meanwhile, the recently formed India (Trade and Investment) All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) held its inaugural meeting at the Houses of Parliament complex on Wednesday, where UK Trade Secretary Greg Hands reiterated that FTA negotiations are ongoing.
India is set to be the world’s third largest economy by 2050 and offer great opportunities for British firms, Hands tweeted after the meeting.
The UK’s new cross-party parliamentary body was formed in July to promote trade, investment and people-to-people ties with India, backed by the British Indian think tank 1928 Institute.
APPG Co-Chairs Labor MPs Navendu Mishra and Lord Karan Bilimoria, and APPG President Baroness Sandy Verma were among those attending the meeting, which was also attended by the Indian High Commissioner for the UK, who spoke on the The scope of bilateral relations spoke of cooperation in future-oriented sectors such as green economy and fintech.
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