New Delhi, July 23: Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed on Wednesday for a four-day official visit to the United Kingdom and the Maldives, with a clear agenda to bolster India’s bilateral ties and economic partnerships with both nations.

In a statement ahead of his departure, Prime Minister Modi said he looked forward to deepening the “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” between India and the United Kingdom, a relationship that has seen “significant progress in recent years.”

Highlighting sectors like trade, technology, innovation, defence, and education, he noted that his discussions with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer would focus on enhancing economic cooperation “aimed at fostering prosperity, growth and job creation in both countries.”

PM Modi is also scheduled to call on King Charles III during the visit, underlining the depth of bilateral ties. India and the UK upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021. Since then, the two countries have witnessed high-level engagements, including multiple meetings between PM Modi and PM Starmer over the past year, most recently during the G7 Summit in June 2025.

The bilateral economic relationship has reached a new milestone, with India-UK trade crossing USD 55 billion in 2024. A major highlight was the announcement of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement on May 6, 2025. UK’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy has visited India twice in the past year, while External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited London in March. Several institutional mechanisms, including 2+2 dialogues and ministerial-level consultations, have added momentum to the partnership.

On the technology front, the Technology Security Initiative (TSI), launched in July 2024, has emerged as a major pillar of collaboration, covering sectors such as telecom, AI, semiconductors, biotech, and quantum technologies. UK is also India’s largest partner in international research collaborations, while the education linkages have strengthened with the opening of Southampton University’s Gurugram campus, the first under India’s New Education Policy.

The Prime Minister will also travel to the Maldives from July 25 to attend the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the country’s independence. His visit comes at the invitation of Maldivian President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

PM Modi highlighted that this year also marks six decades of diplomatic relations between India and the Maldives. In Male, the Prime Minister will hold talks with President Muizzu and other political leaders. “I look forward to my meetings… to advance our joint vision of a Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership, and to strengthen our cooperation for peace, prosperity and stability in the Indian Ocean Region,” he said.

India and the Maldives share a strong neighbourhood-first engagement, with the Prime Minister expressing confidence that the visit will “yield tangible outcomes” benefiting both nations and reinforcing India’s strategic focus on the Indian Ocean Region.

California, July 23: Richard Grenell, US President Donald Trump’s envoy for special missions, on Tuesday (local time) met the sons of jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in California and once again called for the former Pakistani Prime Minister’s release, terming his arrest a case of “political prosecution.”

Grenell posted a photo with Imran Khan’s elder son Sulaiman Isa and his second son Kasim Khan, writing that he “loved hanging out” with them and welcoming them to California.

In a post on X, Grenell wrote, “Welcome to California, my friends. I loved hanging out with you today. Sulaiman and @Kasim_Khan_1999, you must stay strong. There are millions of people around the world who are sick of political prosecutions. You are not alone.”

Grenell’s latest comments come amid continued criticism from PTI leaders and rights activists over Khan’s detention conditions in Adiala Jail, where he has been imprisoned since August 2023.
This is not the first time the former US ambassador has supported Imran Khan. In an interview with Newsmax during Trump’s election campaign, Grenell stated that the US had “a much better relationship with Pakistan” during the Trump administration, when Khan was in office.

He described Khan as a political outsider with a common-sense approach, drawing parallels between Khan’s arrest and the legal challenges faced by Donald Trump in the US.

“We had a much better relationship with Pakistan during the Trump administration when a guy named Imran Khan was the leader of Pakistan. That’s because Imran Khan was an outsider. He was a former cricket player and actually the captain of the Pakistani national cricket team. He wasn’t a politician, and he spoke in very common-sense language. He and Donald Trump had a very good relationship,” Grenell said.

“I’d like to see Imran Khan be released from jail. He’s currently in prison, facing many of the same allegations as President Trump, where the ruling party put him in prison and created some sort of corruption and false allegations,” he added.

Meanwhile, PTI continues to raise concerns over Khan’s prison conditions. As per a Dawn report, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqqas Akram said at a press conference on Friday that Khan is being held in a “death cell,” with no access to books, television, or newspapers.

“Despite being a former prime minister, Khan was denied both his status and even the basic rights of an ordinary prisoner, which was a matter of grave concern, as he was the country’s most popular leader, and the entire nation was deeply worried about his well-being and safety,” Akram said.

He warned that the ongoing political and judicial pressure, coupled with poor prison conditions, was pushing Pakistan towards a “constitutional and humanitarian crisis.” (ANI)

United Nations, July 23: The United States is again withdrawing from UNESCO, accusing it of advancing “divisive social and cultural causes” and focusing too much on sustainable development, State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced on Tuesday.

This is the second time the US is leaving Paris-based UNESCO under President Donald Trump. Washington had rejoined it two years ago under his predecessor Joe Biden.

Having served notice, Bruce said the withdrawal would go into effect at the end of next year.

UNESCO’s “globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy” and “continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States”, she said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “deeply regrets this withdrawal, in light of the major role the US has played in UNESCO since its founding”, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Major issues for the Trump administration are what it considers UNESCO’s anti-Israel policies, which it opposes along with Israel, and the membership of Palestine.

“UNESCO’s decision to admit the ‘State of Palestine’ as a member state is highly problematic, contrary to US policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organisation”, Bruce said.

The US quitting UNESCO is in line with Trump’s intense criticism of international organisations and retrenching from them.

Immediately after he took over, he pulled the US out of the World Health Organisation criticising its handling of the Covid pandemic and accusing it of politicising its role.

Audrey Azoulay, the director-general of the UN’s cultural arm, said the US “decision contradicts the fundamental principles of multilateralism, and may affect first and foremost our many partners in the United States of America— communities seeking site inscription on the World Heritage List, Creative City status, and University Chairs”.

“However regrettable, this announcement was anticipated, and UNESCO has prepared for it”, she said.

The US contribution to UNESCO in 2023 was $28 million, 22 per cent of the organisation’s budget.

But Azoulay said, “Today, the organisation is better protected in financial terms, with the steady support of a large number of member states and private contributors” that have reduced the US contribution to 8 per cent.