UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, during his first visit to India, declared that India is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2028, countering US President Donald Trump’s recent claim that India’s economy was “dead.”
Speaking alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Starmer praised India’s remarkable economic growth, noting that the country had recently surpassed Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy.
Starmer, who opened his speech by greeting the audience in Hindi, said, “Namaskar doston... I want to congratulate the PM on his leadership, aiming to be the world's 3rd largest economy by 2028. Your vision of Viksit Bharat is to make it a completely developed country by 2047.” He added, “Everything I have seen since I have been here is absolute proof to me that you are on track to succeed in that. We want to be partners on that journey,” emphasising the UK’s desire to collaborate in India’s growth story.
Starmer’s remarks, coupled with his arrival in India accompanied by a historic delegation of over 100 CEOs, entrepreneurs, university chancellors, and cultural leaders, served as a strong rebuttal to Trump’s earlier statement. In July 2025, amid strained India-US relations due to New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil, Trump posted on Truth Social, “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.”
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This comment followed the US imposing an additional 25pc tariff, bringing the total to 50pc, as a penalty for India’s oil trade with Russia. However, India’s robust economic growth of 7.8pc in the April-June 2025 quarter was highlighted by the Indian government as a direct counter to Trump’s claim. Since then, India-US relations have shown improvement.
Starmer’s visit follows Prime Minister Modi’s trip to the UK in July 2025, where the two nations signed a long-pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The agreement will see the UK reduce duties on Indian clothing, footwear, and food products, while India will lower tariffs on British goods such as whisky, cosmetics, and medical devices.
A significant highlight of Starmer’s visit was his support for India’s long-standing bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), a move historically blocked by China. Starmer stated, “We sit together in the Commonwealth and G20, and we want to see Indian taking its rightful place in the UN Security Council.” This endorsement adds the UK to the list of supporters, including Russia, Germany, France, and the African Union, backing India’s UNSC aspirations.
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