New Delhi:UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will be in New Delhi on Thursday "as part of a wider diplomatic push following Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine", a British government statement said. During a scheduled meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Truss is slated to say that: Russia's invasion of Ukraine underlines the importance of democracies working closer together to deter aggressors, reduce vulnerability to coercion and strengthen global security".
"She wants to counter Russia's aggression and reduce global strategic dependence on the country ahead of key NATO and G7 meetings next week," the statement said. Truss will also focus on talks to develop defence-related trade, including innovative security technology, strengthening defence ties with the world's largest democracy. "Deeper ties between Britain and India will boost security in the Indo-Pacific and globally, and create jobs and opportunities in both countries," Truss was quoted as saying in the statement
"This matters even more in the context of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and underlines the need for free democracies to work closer together in areas like defence, trade and cyber security. "India is an economic and tech powerhouse, the world's largest democracy and a great friend of Britain, and I want to build an even closer relationship between our two nations," she added. According to the statement, the Foreign Secretary will also work to deepen cyber security and defence co-operation between the two countries, and will announce a new joint cyber security programme.