Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his British counterpart Rishi Sunak on Sunday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. The two leaders decided to continue working towards an “ambitious” deal during the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations.

The two nations last month concluded the ninth round of FTA talks with detailed discussions across a range of policy areas.

In their second in-person meeting since the G20 Summit in Indonesia last November, Modi and Sunak also reportedly spoke about innovation, science, and the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Sharing details of the meeting, Modi tweeted a series of images of his interaction with the British PM. He wrote, “Productive discussion with UK PM @RishiSunak on the sidelines of the Hiroshima G-7 Summit.”

The official Twitter account of the British High Commission in India retweeted the post adding more pictures of the leaders sharing a hug with the caption,“Ek mazboot dosti (a strong friendship).”

Notably, after Sunak’s first ever meeting with Modi in 2022, he posted photo of them hand-in-hand with the same caption saying, “United by friendship.”

An official statement by the Ministry of External Affairs read, “Leaders agreed to deepen cooperation across a wide range of areas, such as trade & investment, science & technology, higher education, and people-to-people relationships.”

With respect to India’s G20 presidency, Downing Street also indicated that the British Indian leader’s first visit to India is expected to be for the G20 Summit in New Delhi later this year. PM Modi said he looked forward to welcoming Sunak to Delhi in September.

“The leaders reflected on the deep ties between the UK and India, rooted in our human connections, and the vital importance of democracy and fair and open trade. The leaders discussed the wider objectives of the G7 Summit and the Prime Minister [Sunak] committed his strong support for India’s G20 Presidency, which comes at a crucial time for global security and prosperity. He looked forward to working closely with Prime Minister Modi ahead of a successful Summit later this year,” said a Downing Street spokesperson.

Modi is also said to have passed on his “warm congratulations” to Sunak on the Coronation of King Charles III earlier this month, where India was represented by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

According to official UK government statistics, India was the UK’s 12th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022.

The G7 Summit concluded in Hiroshima this weekend after wide-ranging discussions between leaders from the largest economies of the world. India was invited as a guest nation to the Group of Seven, which includes the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy, with the European Union (EU) as a non-enumerated member.

(With inputs from PTI)