U.K. Foreign Secretary to visit India, China for talks on global challenges

U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will travel to China on Monday (June 1, 2026) before a visit to India on a two-nation tour focused on tackling global challenges and bolstering cooperation.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the ministerial engagements with the two major powers are expected to cover the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Ebola outbreak in Africa.

Ms. Cooper is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday (June 4), followed by interactions across business and academia.

“The Foreign Secretary (Cooper) will be in India, where she will meet with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and meet with entrepreneurs, academics and government partners who are delivering on the U.K.-India Vision 2035,” the FCDO said.

Her visit to Delhi comes nearly a year after the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was signed off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his U.K. counterpart, Keir Starmer, last July.

The leaders also endorsed the ‘U.K.-India Vision 2035’ at the time to reaffirm a shared commitment to unlock the full potential of a “revitalised partnership”.

It was dubbed an ambitious and future-focused agreement, which underscores both nations’ resolve to work together for “mutual growth, prosperity, and to shape a prosperous, secure, and sustainable world in a time of rapid global change”.

While the U.K. ratification process of the India-U.K. Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has progressed through Parliament, the FTA hit some hurdles over Britain’s upcoming steel import restrictions.

The 2026 ‘India Meets Britain Tracker’ released earlier this week found that bilateral trade between India and the U.K. rose to 47.4 billion pounds in 2025, an 11.7T% year-on-year increase and a figure expected to be further boosted once the CETA is implemented in the coming weeks.

While in Beijing, the U.K. Foreign Secretary will hold discussions with Vice-President Han Zheng and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Ms. Cooper will then travel to Shenzhen for a programme focused on science and technology on Wednesday (June 3) before leaving for India.

Her visit to South Asia comes at a time of considerable global turmoil amid ongoing conflicts in West Asia and Europe, impacting the growth prospects of all major world economies.