New Delhi:

Rishi Sunak said today that his visit to New Delhi for the G20 Leaders’ Summit is “obviously special” as he joked about being referred to as the “son-in-law of India” as the first British Prime Minister of Indian heritage and married to an Indian – Akshata Murty.

Speaking to reporters in a huddle on his flight to New Delhi, the 43-year-old British Indian leader said he was excited to be back in India, “a country that is very near and dear to me”. He is joined on the visit by his wife, the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, and is scheduled for bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit.

“I’m heading to the G20 Summit with a clear focus. Stabilising the global economy. Building international relationships. Supporting the most vulnerable,” tweeted Rishi Sunak as he embarked on the three-day tour.

“It’s obviously special. I saw somewhere that I was referred to as India’s son-in-law, which I hope was meant affectionately,” he told reporters travelling with him.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has been flagged as a key topic on the agenda for the UK during the summit discussions, with Downing Street saying India’s role and influence is “vital”.

“Once again, Vladimir Putin is failing to show his face at the G20. He is the architect of his own diplomatic exile, isolating himself in his presidential palace and blocking out criticism and reality. The rest of the G20, meanwhile, are demonstrating that we will turn up and work together to pick up the pieces of Putin’s destruction,” Rishi Sunak told reporters.

His Downing Street spokesperson said the UK will use “every opportunity” to show its support for Ukraine and further foster global support as well.

“India has a vital role to play as the world’s largest democracy in calling out Russia’s assault on human rights and indeed democracy itself. We will use meetings with PM Modi or elsewhere to encourage them to use that influence to bring an end to Putin’s brutal invasion,” Prime Minister Sunak’s spokesperson said.

The India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations are likely to also feature highly during the Narendra Modi-Rishi Sunak bilateral discussions, having just completed 12 rounds of negotiations but with no set timeframe for its conclusion.

Separately, Downing Street has indicated that there will be no changes to the UK immigration policy as part of the deal, though short-term business visas are up for discussion as part of the trade talks.

Official UK government statistics peg the India-UK bilateral trade relationship as worth around GBP 36 billion in 2022, expected to be significantly enhanced with what both sides have branded as a deep and forward-looking FTA.

PM Modi and Prime Minister Sunak last met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, in May. A month later, during UK-India Week in London, Rishi Sunak had said he “can’t wait” to meet his Indian counterpart again.

“Prime Minister Modiji and I agree there’s huge potential here. We’re making great progress together on the 2030 Roadmap and we want to strike a truly ambitious trade deal that benefits both our nations, bringing tremendous opportunities to businesses and consumers, both in India and here at home,” he said at the time.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

What does the British Prime Minister discuss at the dinner table with his Indian parents-in-law? Is it Indian politics or the challenges of running Britain? Neither. It’s cricket.

“The most political we tend to get is in our discussion of cricket. I’ve agreed that my daughters can support India when it comes to cricket, as long as they support England when it comes to football!,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Press Trust of India.

Rishi Sunak’s parents, both of Indian origin, came to the UK from east Africa. His wife Akshata Murty is the daughter of India’s billionaire tech czar Narayana Murthy and philanthropist and educator Sudha Murty.

In an interview via email days ahead of his visit to New Delhi to attend the G20 summit on September 9 and 10, Rishi Sunak said today the response from the Indian people to his appointment as the prime minister was “overwhelming and humbling.”

“I am hugely proud of my Indian roots and my connections to India. As you know, my wife is Indian and being a proud Hindu means I will always have a connection to India and the people of India,” he said.

The 43-year-old leader of the Conservative Party was first elected as an MP in 2015. He was made finance minister or chancellor of exchequer in February 2020 by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

In October last year, he became the first Indian-origin British prime minister, scripting history.

“One of the first things I did after becoming Prime Minister was to hold a reception for Diwali in Downing Street. Having the opportunity to welcome many British Indians into Number 10 and seeing the building decorated from top to bottom with lights and flowers was an incredibly proud and emotional moment for me,” Rishi Sunak said.

“Because my story is the story of so many people in Britain with deep and enduring links to India. The strength of our country lies in its diversity, and that’s something I have seen first-hand many times since becoming Prime Minister,” he said.

Asked whether he discusses Indian politics, technology or problems he faces in running Great Britain when he sits with his in-laws, Rishi Sunak said it is important to keep politics separate from family.

“It’s very important to keep politics separate from family, but of course my wife and two daughters very much guide my values, as do my parents and parents-in-law.” “I am, though, incredibly proud of my parents-in-law and what they have achieved — going from nothing to building one of the world’s largest and most respected companies, which employs thousands of people in both India and in the UK,” he said.

“I want to create and lead a country where anyone can emulate the kind of success that they have had,” Rishi Sunak said.

“It is wonderful to be able to travel to India for the G20 with Akshata, and hopefully we will get a chance to visit some of the places we went to when we were younger – we’ll both be very busy the whole trip though!” Rishi Sunak said he is looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and deliberate on how collaboration between India and the UK helps in dealing with various global challenges.

“My ministerial colleagues who have visited India in the past year have all returned with a renewed enthusiasm for the UK-India partnership,” he said.

“Beyond the work of the G20 itself, it has been fantastic for so many people to see the breadth and depth of India by travelling all over the country for meetings and discovering the unique cultures on display all over India,” he added.

“When I meet Prime Minister Modi again this week it will be an opportunity to speak about some of the global challenges we face, and the huge role that the UK and India have to play in addressing them,” Rishi Sunak said.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)