Talks between the two countries

New British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held a telephone conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, promising him to work to strengthen relations between the two countries. A statement issued by the British Prime Minister's Office following the conversation said.

"The Prime Minister said that he himself is the visible embodiment of the historic ties between the United Kingdom and India and intends to build on this foundation by further strengthening the relationship between the two countries," the document said.

Sunak expressed hope that the countries will continue to move quickly towards a bilateral free trade agreement. The premiers also agreed to jointly assist emerging economies.

In their phone call on Thursday, believed to have lasted 20 to 25 minutes, Mr Sunak and Mr Modi also discussed ways to strengthen their countries' security and defence ties.

It is worth noting that the leaders also agreed to work together as two great democracies to strengthen the world's emerging economies and looked forward to meeting in person at the G20 in Indonesia."

Moreover, when asked about the call, No 10 did not say whether Home Minister Suella Braverman's controversial remarks about Indians overstaying their visas were part of the discussions.

During her first brief stint at the Home Office, Ms Braverman clashed with Downing Street for expressing views that contradicted government policy, as Ms Truss struggled to enforce party discipline.

She said she had "reservations" about loosening immigration controls as part of any trade deal with India, telling The Spectator that she had "concerns about an open borders migration policy with India because I don't think that's what people voted for with Brexit".

Modi and Sunak are scheduled to meet in person during the Group of Twenty (G20) summit to be held in Indonesia on November 15-16.

Sunak, who took over the government on October 25, became the first British prime minister with dark skin, the first Hindu and the first ethnic Indian to head a British cabinet. He is a third-generation immigrant whose family moved to English Southampton from Kenya and British Taganja in the 1960s.