Relationship dossier
India
United Kingdom
Relationship assessment
Broad India–UK strategic partnership with recurring trade and security-related friction
India toward United Kingdom
+35India has pursued practical cooperation with the United Kingdom through the 2021 Roadmap 2030, the Enhanced Trade Partnership and the Migration and Mobility Partnership. India also engages the UK through defence and diplomatic cooperation. Trade negotiations and disagreements involving extradition and security have constrained parts of the relationship.
United Kingdom toward India
+35The United Kingdom has pursued closer ties with India through the 2021 Roadmap 2030, the Enhanced Trade Partnership and the Migration and Mobility Partnership, alongside defence and diplomatic cooperation. Trade negotiations and concerns relating to security and extradition have remained sources of friction.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship is structured around a sustained strategic partnership and practical cooperation in trade, migration, defence and diplomacy. These arrangements support substantial engagement, but negotiations over trade and recurring security and extradition concerns prevent the relationship from being uniformly close.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
India and the United Kingdom maintain a broad strategic partnership, with government cooperation spanning trade, migration, defence and diplomacy. The 2021 Roadmap 2030 and related agreements set out practical cooperation, while trade negotiations and disputes over security, extradition and market access have complicated ties. The relationship is substantially cooperative but includes recurring points of friction.
Areas of tension
- Trade negotiations, including disagreements over market access and the terms of a prospective trade agreement
- Indian concerns about the activities of pro-Khalistan groups in the United Kingdom
- Extradition cases involving Indian fugitives sought by India
Key developments
The two governments adopted a 2030 Roadmap and announced an Enhanced Trade Partnership to deepen cooperation across several policy areas.
India and the United Kingdom concluded a Migration and Mobility Partnership covering mobility and cooperation on migration.
The governments launched negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement.
Major uncertainties
- The extent to which the Roadmap 2030 commitments have been implemented across its policy areas is unclear.
- The future scope and timing of a bilateral trade agreement remain uncertain.