Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on implementing the 2030 Roadmap for India-UK future relations.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has made positive progress against the 'Defence and Security' pillar of the 2030 India-UK Roadmap. To support military cooperation, we have signed a logistics Memorandum of Understanding enabling UK ships to use Indian facilities with greater ease, as well as an agreement to enable the exchange of maritime shipping information.

We have increased military engagement including through bilateral and multilateral military exercises in the land, air and maritime domains. Defence Partnership-India (DP-I), a bespoke programme office, was launched in September 2023 to support defence industrial collaboration. We have also significantly increased senior military and ministerial bilateral engagement, and the Secretary of State for Defence has invited his Indian opposite number to visit the UK early in the new year.

Finally, the MOD has and continues to support the running of annual UK-India Staff Talks for the Army, Navy, and Air Force, culminating in the annual Permanent Secretary-led Defence Consultative Group (DCG) which took place on 24 November.