India, UK sign, exchange letters to formalise Young Professional Scheme in London

London [UK], January 9 (ANI): High Commissioner of India to the UK, Vikram K Doraiswami and Matthew Rycroft, the permanent secretary at the Home Office of the UK signed and exchanged letters for formalising the Young Professional Scheme at an event in London on Monday.

The event took place at the High Commission of India in London. Further details and implementation dates will be shared soon regarding the scheme.

Rycroft is a diplomat serving as Permanent Under-Secretary of the UK at the Home Office since 2020.

"HC @VDoraiswami & PUS Home @MatthewRycroft1 signed & exchanged the letters for formalising the Young Professional Scheme at an event @HCI_London today. Further details and implementation date will be shared soon. @MEAIndia @PIBHomeAffairs @ukhomeoffice @DoC_GoI @ANI @DDNewslive," the official handle of the High Commission of India in London tweeted.

Earlier in November, in a video message, British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis said that PM Narendra Modi and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the launch of the young professional scheme at the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia where both the leaders met each other for the first time.

The Young Professionals Scheme will allow graduates aged between 18-30 to get a two-year visa to study in each other's countries and help the youth understand the culture of one another.

In his video, the British High Commissioner said that this is the first time the UK has done this with a visa-national country like India.

"More details to follow in coming weeks both about the British scheme and the Indian scheme," Alex Ellis added. He also said that more details about both the British scheme and the Indian scheme would be revealed in the coming weeks as he called it a great opportunity.

Rishi Sunak is the first Indian-origin Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. India and the United Kingdom have a multi-dimensional strategic partnership.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak on Wednesday on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali and their discussions also touched on important sectors of collaboration such as trade, mobility, defence and security.

The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the state of the wide-ranging India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and progress on the Roadmap 2030 for Future Relations, according to an official statement of the Ministry of External Affairs. (ANI)