UK remains committed to trade deal with India: Rishi Sunak

Bali, Nov 16: Reviving hopes and expectations, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday said he was committed to a trade deal with India.

"We remain committed to a trade deal with India, but we need to get these things right... There is excitement about India taking over the G20 presidency," Sunak was quoted as saying.

Later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also tweeted and said "India attaches great importance to robust India-UK ties".

"Was great to meet PM @RishiSunak in Bali. India attaches great importance to robust India-UK ties. We discussed ways to increase commercial linkages, raise the scope of security cooperation in context of India's defence reforms and make people-to-people ties even stronger," PM Modi tweeted.

PM Modi held talks with his British counterpart Rishi Sunak, covering key areas of cooperation such as trade, mobility, defence and security.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the G-20 summit here. This was the first meeting between the two leaders. Prime Minister congratulated Prime Minister Sunak on assuming office.

The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the state of the wide-ranging India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and progress on the Roadmap 2030 for Future Relations. The two leaders appreciated the importance of working together in bilateral and multilateral forums including G20 and the Commonwealth.

Discussions touched upon important sectors of collaboration such as trade, mobility, defence and security.

The deal, when clinched, would be India's biggest and most ambitious free trade agreement.