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Sir Keir Starmer and India’s Narendra Modi have special reasons to hug each other.

India is the fourth largest economy in the world and is expected to be the third largest economy. In a notable role reversal, Britain needs India’s investment.

But Sir Keir is doing more than just seeking job-creating cash. Just as it helped prevent President Trump’s cooling towards NATO, India needs to prevent the UK from moving closer to countries that threaten its interests.

The big carrot he offers is supporting India to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council. This is a big reward for Modi; It allows the country to be on the same side as the USA, Russia, China, England and France.

India’s relations with the US have been frayed by tariffs, and there is pressure on India to stop buying Russian oil. Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India soon and Modi called him to wish him a happy birthday. All of this comes at a time when there are regular concerns about the strength of civil liberties for minority groups in India.

There would be consternation in the Ministry of External Affairs if India partners with China and Russia and becomes part of the autocrats’ club. But the rock star reception for Sir Keir (there are about 5,700 posters in Mumbai) shows that India believes its relations with Britain are still important.

The UK has no doubt that this relationship is vital to Britain’s future prosperity and security. The Government team in Mumbai says how well it thinks things are going this week. In the coming months, we will see whether the Prime Minister will succeed in opening a new page in relations between the two countries with the closest common history.