British Ministers to Meet Modi on July 8

Bilateral trade and economic relations will be high on the agenda when two top British ministers will have meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and their Indian counterparts separately on Tuesday.

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs William Hague and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will arrive in Mumbai on Monday on a two-day visit and hold meetings in Delhi on Tuesday.

"I can give you the feel of the bilateral part of their visit when there are likely to be meetings with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and the Prime Minister," MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told reporters on Sunday.

A request has also been made for a separate meeting between Mr Osborne and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, he said.

Regarding the meeting with the External Affairs Minister, he said bilateral trade and economic ties will figure in them.

He said the two-way trade between India and Britain stood at $15.8 billion with balance in favour of India whose exports accounted for $9.8 billion.

Since India and Britain have a strategic partnership, issues like counter terrorism and international matters like Iraq would figure, the spokesperson added.