UK PM Rishi Sunak drops in to greet NSA Doval in his meeting with his British counterpart

In a special gesture, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday, February 4, greeted National Security Adviser Ajit Doval when he was holding talks with his United Kingdom counterpart Tim Barrow in London for the annual strategic dialogue.

According to the Indian High Commission in the UK, Sunak assured his government's full support to deepen strategic partnerships in trade, defence, science and technology with India.

"A special gesture by PM @rishisunak to join for a while NSA dialogue btwn Sir Tim Barrow & Mr. Doval at @cabinetofficeuk. Deeply value PM's assurance of his Govts full support to deepen strategic partnership in trade, defence, S&T. Look forward to visit of Sir Tim to India soon," India in the UK tweeted.

A special gesture by PM @rishisunak to join for a while🇮🇳🇬🇧 NSA dialogue btwn Sir Tim Barrow & Mr. Doval at @cabinetofficeuk. Deeply value PM's assurance of his Govts full support to deepen strategic partnership in trade, defence, S&T. Look forward to visit of Sir Tim to 🇮🇳 soon. pic.twitter.com/ffqfQCVdtj

— India in the UK (@HCI_London)

Notably, Doval's meeting with Barrow comes against the backdrop of BBC's controversial documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the UK becoming the hotbed of the Khalistan movement.

Tim Barrow was appointed as National Security Adviser of the UK in September 2022. According to UK government's official website, he was once the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's (FCDO) Political Director and Second Permanent Under-Secretary.

The ties between India and the UK are often described as a Living Bridge, a dynamic economic force of people, businesses and ideas. 

India and the United Kingdom (UK) share a comprehensive strategic partnership with each other. The two nations have also concluded six rounds of negotiations for a trade deal and will begin the next round very soon.

Notably, the Free Trade Agreement negotiations between India and the UK started in January 2022. The free trade agreement between both nations is far along. Even though UK-India trade is currently worth 29.6 billion pounds, India is only the 12th-largest trading partner of the UK.

In a telephonic conversation with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak—the nation's first leader of Indian descent—had earlier expressed his desire for the successful conclusion of the trade agreement.

NSA Doval's London visit comes right after he met his United States counterpart Jake Sullivan in Washington last week.

(With ANI inputs)