London [UK], July 24 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the United Kingdom on Wednesday in the first leg of his two-nation visit with the two countries poised to further strengthen bilateral ties by signing Free Trade Agreement.

PM Modi landed in London for two-day visit to the United Kingdom.

In his departure statement, PM Modi had said that India and UK share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that has witnessed significant progress in recent years.

'Our collaboration spans a wide range of sectors, including trade, investment, technology, innovation, defence, education, research, sustainability, health and people-to-people ties,' he said.

PM Modi will hold discussions with his UK counterpart Keir Starmer. The two leaders will have the opportunity to further enhance economic partnership, aimed at fostering prosperity, growth and jobs creation in both countries.

PM Modi will also call on Charles III.

This will be Prime Minister's fourth visit to the United Kingdom since assuming office. He has visited previously in 2015 and 2018, and he was there in 2021 for the COP26 summit in Glasgow. Within the last year itself, Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Starmer have met twice, first on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro last year, and more recently, just last month, in June, in Kananaskis in Canada, on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

The India-UK partnership was upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021, and since then has seen regular high-level political exchanges, and both sides remain committed to taking this partnership to even higher levels.

The idea behind the trade deal is to eliminate or reduce tariffs on imports and exports between the two nations. This should make Indian products competitive in the UK and vice versa. Both nations desire to increase their trade to USD 120 billion by 2030.

In the second leg of his visit, PM Modi will visit Maldives. (ANI)