UK Greenlights 3,000 Visas Hours After Modi-Sunak Meeting

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak met on November 16 on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali. The meeting covered the key areas of cooperation such as trade, mobility, defence and security. It was the first meeting between the two leaders after the Indian-origin leader assumed office as the British Prime Minister a few weeks ago.

Hours after the Modi-Sunak meeting, the UK greenlighted 3,000 Visas for Indian nationals confirming the UK India Young Professions scheme. The scheme will allow 18-30 years old graduated Indian citizens to participate in a professional and cultural exchange. The degree professionals will be a part of cultural and professional exchange, benefitting from the scheme.

The UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak approved the scheme for young professionals from India to work in the UK each year. The UK government cited India as the first visa-national country to benefit from the scheme. The UK Prime Minister stated, “India is the first visa-national country to benefit from such a scheme, highlighting the strength of the UK-India Migration and Mobility Partnership agreed last year.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted about the meeting later, saying, "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."

The announcement highlights the strength of the UK-India Migration and Mobility Partnership, which was agreed upon last year.

The Prime Minister also mentioned the value of the deep cultural and historical ties between both countries and added that he is happy that bright young Indian people will have more chances to experience the life the UK offers. Nearly a quarter of all the international students in the UK are from the Indian diaspora.

The UK-India trading relationship will be the trade deal's building block, worth £24 billion. This will allow the Uk to seize opportunities presented by India’s growing economy.

Sunak’s office said in a statement, “They looked forward to the agreement of a UK-India free trade deal, which has the potential to unlock investment and increase jobs in both our countries, as well as expanding our deep cultural links.”

The UK PM also tweeted in the Hindi language 'United by friendship' just hours after meeting with PM Modi at G20 Summit on Wednesday,