‘A new era for higher education’: UK universities open doors in India

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed delight over the opening of nine UK university campuses in India, calling it a milestone in educational collaboration between the two nations.

“The largest and most influential delegation from the education sector so far has come with Prime Minister Starmer.

It is a matter of great joy that now nine universities from the UK are going to open campuses in India. The Gurugram campus of Southampton University was recently inaugurated, and the first batch of students has already been admitted,” PM Modi said.

Highlighting the growing economic engagement, the Prime Minister praised the recently concluded Business Leaders’ Summit and announced that both countries would participate in the India-UK CEO Forum and the Global Fintech Festival later in the day.

“The biggest business leaders’ summit between India and the UK was held yesterday. Today, we will address the India-UK CEO Forum and Global Fintech Festival. These initiatives reflect the shared commitment to strengthening India-UK cooperation,” he added.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi and his UK counterpart, PM Keir Starmer, held a delegation-level meeting in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, PM Modi also welcomed the agreement reached on the first phase of President Donald Trump’s peace plan, describing it as a positive step towards lasting peace in the Middle East.

“We welcome the agreement on the first phase of President Trump’s peace plan. This reflects the strong leadership of PM Netanyahu.

We hope the release of hostages and enhanced humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza will bring much-needed relief and pave the way for lasting peace,” he said.

The remarks came after Qatar’s Prime Minister and official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majed Al Ansari, confirmed that mediators had reached an agreement on all provisions and implementation mechanisms for the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

“The mediators announce that tonight an agreement was reached on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid. The details will be announced later,” Ansari posted on X.