Starmer meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mumbai on largest-ever trade mission

The Prime Minister and his counterpart met at Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the governor of Maharashtra, the state of which Mumbai is the capital.

The palatial compound sits on the tip of a peninsula in the affluent Malabar Hill neighbourhood, where commanding views of the city could be glimpsed through a low haze over the sea.

Sir Keir and Mr Modi shook hands in front of a row of British and Indian national flags on a lawn surrounded by palm trees.

In the humid morning air, the two prime ministers then walked around the gardens of the residence before heading inside for their meeting.

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Sir Keir and Mr Modi discussed the war in Ukraine when they met on Thursday morning, the Indian prime minister said.

Making a statement via a translator, Mr Modi said he and Sir Keir had discussed the “ongoing conflict in Ukraine”.

India continues to buy Russian fossil fuels, which helps to fund Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, all while Western nations’ sanctions ramp up their programme.

“In the Middle East and Ukraine, India supports all efforts for restoring peace through dialogue and diplomacy,” Mr Modi said.

He added that India is “totally committed to increasing maritime security co-operation in the Indo-Pacific region”.

Earlier Mr Modi said: “Under Prime Minister Starmer’s leadership the relationship between the UK and India have significantly progressed.”

He added: “Your visit to India within just a few months of concluding the agreement and the fact that you have been accompanied by the biggest ever business delegation pay testament to the new energy in the UK-India relationship.”

Sir Keir said they discussed the need for a “just and lasting peace in Ukraine”, as well as “breaking away from dependence on fossil fuels”.

Speaking at the state governor’s residence in Mumbai, the Prime Minister said: “The Prime Minister and I also discussed the need for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, the need for stability and security in the Indo-Pacific, and the need to co-operate in critical areas like climate and energy, including breaking away from dependence on fossil fuels.”

Sir Keir congratulated India on its rising global strength, adding: “We sit together in the Commonwealth, the G20, and we want to see India taking its rightful place on the UN Security Council too.”

He had earlier described India’s economic growth as “remarkable”.

“It is significant that we’re meeting here in Mumbai, as India’s economic and financial capital, because India’s growth story is remarkable,” Sir Keir said.