UK-India ties: Newly appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak has given his approval for at least 3,000 visas for young professionals from India to work in Britain each year.
The UK-India Migration and Mobility Partnership, which was established last year, is strong, according to the British government, which claimed that India is the first visa-national country to profit from it.
Under the new UK-India Young Professionals Scheme, the UK will provide 3,000 visas each year to degree-educated Indian citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 who wish to visit the country and work there for up to two years. It will be a reciprocal system.
"Today the UK-India Young Professionals Scheme was confirmed, offering 3,000 places to 18-30-year-old degree-educated Indian nationals to come to the UK to live and work for up to two years," the UK Prime Minister's Office wrote on Twitter.
The announcement came in Downing Street readout hours after Sunak's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 17th G20 Summit in Indonesia's capital Bali. This was the first meeting between the two leaders after Sunak took over as UK's Prime Minister in October.
"Prime Ministers @narendramodi and @RishiSunak in conversation during the first day of the @g20org Summit in Bali," PM Modi's Office said in a tweet.
The scheme marks a turning point in India-UK relations
According to Downing Street, the launch of the scheme marks a turning point in the bilateral relationship between the UK and India as well as in the country's broader commitment to building more significant ties with the Indo-Pacific region in order to boost regional economies.
It further claimed that of all the nations in the Indo-Pacific region, the UK had the most connections to India. India accounts for over a quarter of all foreign students in the UK, and Indian investment in the country sustains 95,000 jobs nationwide.
India-UK trade deal
It is worth mentioning here that India and the UK are also negotiating a trade agreement, If the deal gets approved, it will be the first of its kind India has made with a European nation.
The trade agreement is also anticipated to strengthen the 24 billion pound trading relationship between the UK and India and enable the UK to thrive on opportunities presented by India's expanding economy.
(With inputs from ANI)
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