PM Modi Holds Bilateral Talks With UK, UAE Leaders on G7 Summit Sidelines in France

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Tuesday, with discussions dominated by the crisis in West Asia and concerns over the security of maritime trade routes. Modi held separate meetings with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and was also scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump.

In his meetings with Starmer, Al Nahyan, and Carney, Modi reviewed bilateral ties and exchanged views on regional and global developments amid growing instability in West Asia and the continuing conflict in Ukraine. The talks come at a moment when both India's key strategic partnerships and the domestic political circumstances of some of the leaders Modi met are under unusually close watch.

Modi-Starmer Talks Focus on Trade, Technology, and Regional Security

During the meeting, Modi thanked Starmer for the UK's strong participation in the AI Impact Summit held in New Delhi earlier this year and welcomed progress under the Technology Security Initiative, including the recent launch of the India-UK Critical Minerals Global Supply Chain Observatory. In his meeting with Starmer, Modi discussed developments in West Asia and Ukraine and reviewed progress under the India-UK Vision 2035 roadmap. The two leaders expressed satisfaction over growing cooperation in trade, defence, green energy, technology and education, and looked forward to the early implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. They also welcomed the strengthening of educational links, with the University of Liverpool set to establish a campus in Bengaluru.

The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global developments, including the situation in West Asia and the conflict in Ukraine. In a post on social media, Modi described the meeting as "wonderful" and said the past year had been "outstanding" for India-UK relations, noting that the trade deal had opened many avenues of economic cooperation and that the day's talks focused on adding further momentum to the bilateral relationship.

The Modi-Starmer meeting comes against the backdrop of a free trade agreement between the two countries that has been a defining feature of the bilateral relationship over the past year, alongside continued cooperation across defence, education, and clean energy sectors.

Talks With UAE Centre on Hormuz Security and Gulf Cooperation

During talks with the UAE President, the two leaders called for free, safe and unimpeded navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial artery for global energy supplies and trade. The strait has come under heightened international attention in recent weeks amid wider instability across West Asia, with G7 leaders separately discussing measures to safeguard shipping through the waterway.

Modi and the UAE President reviewed progress in cooperation across technology, trade, investment, energy and defence following the UAE President's visit to India in January and Modi's trip to the Gulf nation in May. Modi also invited the UAE President to attend the BRICS summit to be hosted by India later this year.

Separately at the summit, Britain's Starmer said the UK would play its full part in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, though he declined to confirm when British warships could be in the area, adding that G7 leaders were discussing next steps to reopen the strait. Britain and France have assembled a group of countries prepared to play their part in providing reassurance to get vessels safely through the strait. This broader G7 discussion forms important context for Modi's bilateral conversation with the UAE leader, given India's reliance on energy supplies that transit the strait.

Starmer's Political Future in Question Ahead of Key Byelection

The Modi-Starmer meeting took place against a backdrop of considerable uncertainty over the British prime minister's own political standing. On June 18, a parliamentary byelection is scheduled to be held in the constituency of Makerfield, on the outskirts of Manchester in northwest England. The Labour Party's candidate is Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, and a win would be expected to position him to quickly challenge Starmer for leadership of the Labour Party.

Starmer has been significantly weakened by a series of missteps and regional election losses, prompting a wave of internal soul-searching and several ministerial resignations within his government. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, in his resignation letter, wrote that the party needed vision where there was currently a vacuum, and stated it was clear the prime minister would not lead Labour into the next general election, which must be held by 2029. Starmer has so far resisted calls to set a departure date. The Makerfield byelection was triggered after the constituency's previous MP, Josh Simons, resigned the seat last month specifically to give Burnham the opportunity to contest it and gain entry to Parliament. During a BBC debate held in the constituency, Burnham said: "If I get your support, I would seek to represent you at the highest possible level."

Burnham has consistently declined to rule out a leadership challenge when directly questioned by journalists, stating on one occasion that he had "not launched any leadership challenge" while also refusing to rule out what might happen in the future. Under Labour Party rules, any leadership challenge requires the challenger to be a sitting MP and to secure the backing of at least 80 MPs.

This is notably Burnham's second attempt in 2026 to secure a route back into the House of Commons. In January, Burnham was blocked from contesting a different vacant seat, Gorton and Denton, when the Labour Party's National Executive Committee including Starmer himself, voted 8 to 1 against allowing his candidacy, a decision that drew criticism from dozens of Labour MPs and was seen by some as a deliberate move to keep a potential rival out of Parliament. At the time, Starmer suggested Burnham would instead be free to stand at the next general election once his term as Greater Manchester mayor concluded in 2028.

The outcome of the Makerfield byelection, due the day after Modi's bilateral meeting with Starmer in Evian, is being closely watched in Westminster as a signal of how much pressure the Labour leadership might face heading into the second half of 2026.