Former UK PM Rishi Sunak (left) and UK deputy PM David Lammy
NEW DELHI: UK deputy prime minister David Lammy hailed former prime minister Rishi Sunak as “a great son of India” while highlighting his own Indian roots during a fireside chat in New Delhi.Speaking at the British High Commission, introducing Sunak, Lammy said, “I know that former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is not just a great son of the United Kingdom, he is also a great son of India.”Sunak promptly interjected, saying, “Son-in-law”, drawing laughter from the audience.Lammy also spoke about his own Indian heritage. “I just want to establish my heritage too, because my great-grandmother on my mother’s side was from Calcutta,” he said.Emphasising their ability to work together despite political differences in the UK, Lammy said, “Whilst we are on different sides of the political aisle, we can work together and have been friends for many years.” He added it had been “One of the great pleasures in recent years to join former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on our shared goal to do much better both in the United Kingdom and globally on prostate cancer, and it’s a pleasure to work with him on that cross-party issue.”Lammy’s remarks came amid discussions on strengthening UK-India relations, with potential areas of cooperation including trade, technology and security, as both countries explore ways to deepen their strategic partnership. Earlier, speaking at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, Sunak called India the ideal venue for shaping the future of artificial intelligence and said there was “no better place” to deliberate on the global AI transformation.”We do need a regular forum, where we can all meet and discuss this technology, and that is what this Summit provides under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership. This summit will deliver impact; it will show us how we can make AI work, not just for the developed world but for the developing world too,” Sunak said.”There is no better place to discuss this AI transformation than India,” Sunak said, adding that the summit would show how AI can improve health and education “in every corner of the globe” and enhance human dignity.
