MUMBAI (Reuters) -Britain said on Thursday it had signed a 350 million pound ($468 million) contract to supply the Indian army with UK-manufactured lightweight missiles, as part of a deepening weapons and defence partnership between the two countries.
The announcement came as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was visiting Indian Prime counterpart Narendra Modi in Mumbai, where the pair hailed the potential of the commercial links from their months-old trade deal.
In its statement on the defence deal, the British government said the new contract for Lightweight Multirole Missiles made by Thales in Northern Ireland would secure 700 jobs at a factory which currently makes the same weapons for Ukraine.
"The deal paves the way for a broader complex weapons partnership between the UK and India, currently under negotiation between the two governments," it said.
Starmer has over the last 12 months thrown his weight behind Britain's defence sector to try to drive higher economic growth, pledging to up spending in line with NATO targets, as well as focusing on winning exports, such as a recent $13.5 billion frigate contract with Norway.
Britain also said on Thursday it reached a new milestone with India on a tie-up for electric-powered engines for naval ships as both countries signed the next phase of a deal, worth an initial 250 million pounds.
($1 = 0.7481 pounds)
(Reporting by Muvija M and Alistair Smout, writing by Sarah Young; editing by Michael Holden)
