Boris Johnson poses for pictures in a JCB on India trip
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During his visit to India, the Prime Minister is set to announce a massive trove of investments with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. The deals, dubbed a “win-win” for both countries, are expected to be worth £1billion and will create about 11,000 new jobs across the UK. Today’s announcement will focus on defence and security, including support for new Indian-designed and built fighter jets.
But Mr Johnson and Mr Modi have also discussed deepening ties in the energy sector, in a broader 12-pillar UK-India trade deal that Mr Johnson hopes to sign off on by Diwali, Express.co.uk understands.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, UK Energy Minister Greg Hands said: “The UK and India already have strong historical, linguistic and economic ties, and energy and climate is one of the key pillars of the India-UK 2030 Roadmap for co-operation.
“We are already cooperating closely with India to bolster energy security, ensuring both countries can continue to access secure, affordable and sustainable energy supplies.
“Our work together on this, building on shared expertise and resources, will be critical at a time of global supply constraints.
“We continue to look at how we can invest further in renewable energy across the world, including in India, to meet global energy needs and support the global shift towards greener energy.”
It comes after Mr Johnson and Mr Modi launched a new flagship international initiative to dramatically accelerate the global transition to a clean powered world in November.
Jointly led by the UK and India, the new initiative, called “Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid” will push for the development and deployment of interconnected electricity grids across continents, countries and communities.
Mr Johnson is understood to want to turbocharger this plan to help India end its reliance on fossil fuels – focusing on the likes of hydrogen, solar and wind investments.
While Western countries like the US, UK, and EU have either completely ended, or announced plans to end their imports of Russian energy, India has stepped up its purchases.
Despite threats from the US, New Delhi has ramped up its energy ties with Russia, as state-run Indian oil refineries continue to seek deals with Russia, buying crude oil at discounted prices.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Anuj Chande from accounting firm Grant Thorton noted that in the longer term, trade deals with India could have some impact with “greater collaboration” on renewable energy initiatives and technology.
He said: “Current energy trade between the UK and India includes the export of UK manufactured mechanical power generators – and in fact is one of the top five exports based on latest ONS data produced by the UK government (£261 million for period January 2021 to 30 September 2021).
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“I can foresee this increasing significantly given the greater collaboration and cooperation in the renewable energy space.
“For example, the UK, which has the largest installation of offshore wind farms globally, is poised to help India with the development of its offshore wind farm capacity.
“In addition, there are initiatives in the electric car space, as well as green funds looking to invest in projects in India.”
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