British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday named David Lammy as his new foreign secretary, as the newly-appointed premier started the process of forming a Labour Party government after winning the general election with a landslide.
The 51-year-old Labour politician and lawyer, who has been a vocal advocate of strong bilateral ties with India and referred to external affairs minister Dr S. Jaishankar as a 바카라friend바카라, told India Global Forum in London last week that he intends to visit India within the first month of office if his party is elected to govern in Thursday바카라s polls.
바카라Look forward to continuing our engagement and strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,바카라 Dr Jaishankar posted on X, in his congratulatory message.
In his post after being appointed to one of the highest offices in the UK government, Lammy said: 바카라It is the honour of my life to be appointed Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.
바카라The world faces huge challenges, but we will navigate them with the UK's enormous strengths. We will reconnect Britain for our security and prosperity at home.바카라 Last week, referring to the missed Diwali 2022 deadline set by former prime minister Boris Johnson for the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA), he pointed out that 바카라many Diwalis have come and gone without a trade deal and too many businesses have been left waiting".
"My message to [Finance] Minister [Nirmala] Sitharaman and [Trade] Minister [Piyush] Goyal is that Labour is ready to go. Let바카라s finally get our free trade deal done and move on,바카라 he said.
Describing India as a 바카라priority바카라 for the party and an economic, technological and cultural 바카라superpower바카라, Lammy had sought to set the tone for his future tenure in a Labour-led Cabinet as foreign secretary.
바카라With Labour, the days of Boris Johnson reciting that old verse from Rudyard Kipling in Asia are over. If I recite a poem in India, it will be Tagore... because with a superpower like India the areas of cooperation and the areas for learning are limitless,바카라 he said.
From a wider foreign policy perspective, Lammy stressed on a 바카라free and open Indo-Pacific" working in partnership with India.
바카라We stand for a rules-based order and against those who wish to redraw borders by force with a new form of imperialism, like [Russian President] Mr Putin in Europe; and those in Asia who wish to impose their will on their neighbours denying them free choices,바카라 he said.
바카라Europe and Asia are not two separate worlds... In this challenging environment, Britain will remain and seek to ramp up the security partnership with India - from military to maritime security, from cyber to critical and emerging technologies, from defence and industrial cooperation to supply chain security,바카라 Lammy added.
Earlier this year, when he launched the Labour Indians diaspora outreach organisation in the Parliament complex, Lammy had first committed that his party will 바카라finish the job바카라 of an FTA with India, which aims to enhance the GBP 38.1 billion bilateral partnership but is stalled in the 14th round of negotiations.
바카라We also wanted to take the message across that we see the trade agreement as the floor, not the ceiling in the relationship with India because there바카라s a lot more we can do across all areas,바카라 he said.
