UK PM Keir Starmer sidesteps query on India's import of Russia oil

LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted he will not relax visa rules to offer more to Indians just before his flight touched down in Mumbai on Tuesday night in his first major trade mission to India.

Accompanied by 125 CEOs, entrepreneurs, cultural institutions and 14 university vice-chancellors, it is the largest delegation to India in decades.

Starmer also promised he would raise with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the case of Jagtar Singh Johal, the British Indian Sikh activist detained in India on terror charges, according to reports in the UK media.

The visit seeks to build on the momentum from the UK-India trade deal, signed in July, which will lower tariffs on exports to either country.

Starmer was repeatedly asked by the press on the flight if he would increase visas for highly-skilled Indian workers and students. "The issue is not about visas. It's about business-to-business engagement and investment and jobs and prosperity coming into the UK," he told UK mediapersons accompanying him on the flight.

He said visas "played no part" in the trade deal with India and that situation had not changed. He said no business leaders in his delegation had "raised with him the question of visas" either.

Instead, the visit to India was about providing opportunities for Indian and UK businesses to take advantage of the UK-India trade deal.

Asked whether Britain might consider poaching Indian-origin tech entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley in the wake of US President Donald Trump upping new H-1B visa fees to $100,000 for fresh applications, the UK PM said: "Broadly, and not necessarily related to India, yes, where there is very top talent across the globe. I want to have top talent in the UK to help us grow our economy."

Starmer also said the UK would not seek to bring more Indian students to Britain, and instead would encourage UK universities to establish campuses in India, as several have done.

Starmer confirmed the UK government was looking at linking visas to whether a country accepts returns of its citizens. "With India that is a non-issue because we have got a returns agreement that is operating really well," Starmer said. "We've returned, I think, 6,300 or so (Indians) already - that's a 55% increase."

Asked about India's purchase of Russian oil, Starmer joked he had not "sent birthday congratulations to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, nor am I going to do so", and sidestepped the question, saying the UK's focus was on Russia's shadow fleet of oil tankers which bypasses Western sanctions.