Trade over tension: Starmer’s India visit puts business first

A CENTURY after the landmark 1924 novel, A Passage to India, was set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement, the dynamics have shifted. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will make his first official trip on Wednesday (Oct 8) to what is now an economic giant.

The commercial lure of 1.4 billion-strong India for the UK and the West is an economy projected to surpass Japan and Germany to become the world’s third-largest in coming years, behind the US and China. The Indian middle-class consumer market is expected to reach some 95 million by 2035, larger than the current total population of Germany.

While facing many domestic challenges 15 months into office, Starmer has won plaudits for his foreign policy, an asset he will seek to leverage on this mission to deepen business ties with Asia. This follows his trip to the Pacific last year for the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit.