Cooper met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The UK and India co-launched the Regional Maritime Security Centre of Excellence.
Cooper also launched the Critical Mineral’s Global Supply Chain Observatory.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper’s visit to India drove forward Britain's partnership with India in maritime security, economic growth and keeping supply chains secure from global economic shocks, the UK government said on Friday. Cooper held meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar earlier this week, which the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said built on the strategic direction and vision for deeper cooperation as per the India-UK Vision 2035 agreed between Modi and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The senior Cabinet minister is said to have highlighted the “crucial” need to work together on the Strait of Hormuz and easing the impact its closure is having on international shipping.
“As part of that, the Foreign Secretary co-launched a new Regional Maritime Security Centre of Excellence (RMSCE), bolstering the UK's cooperation with India on maritime security and resilience to international shocks," the FCDO said.
1 June 2026
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Critical minerals also formed a key part of Cooper’s talks in India, where she is said to have underlined the UK's commitment to working with partners to create “more diverse and resilient supply chains." "Critical minerals are essential to the UK’s current and future prosperity, as necessary components in everything from electric vehicles and wind turbines to smart phones," the FCDO said.
"During her meeting with G. Kishan Reddy, India’s Minister for Coal and Mines, the Foreign Secretary launched the Critical Mineral’s Global Supply Chain Observatory (GSCO). A flagship component of the UK-India Technology Security Initiative, this Observatory provides a groundbreaking AI tool that gives real time information on global critical mineral flows and identifies supply chain vulnerabilities," the Foreign Office shared.
As part of the GSCO, India is expected to commit 1.2 million pounds of funding to establish a satellite observatory campus at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Dhanbad with the UK's University of Cambridge.
“We are strengthening our economic partnerships, and we're also strengthening our security partnerships; on maritime security and on AI security," said Cooper.
Referencing her visit to China before arriving in New Delhi, she stated: “We are doing a lot of joint work together because they're the biggest powers in the world – the UK has to engage with the biggest powers.
“We're going to be engaging with governments that have different views from us on things. But we can also engage with, work with, and strengthen partnerships with countries at the same time as talking through and engaging on those disagreements." In China, the UK Foreign Secretary travelled to Beijing for political engagements before going on to Shenzhen for meetings with Chinese tech businesses.
The FCDO said she underlined that the UK cannot insulate itself from global issues through "cancel culture" on foreign policy and not engaging in vital global discussions.
“Meetings with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and Foreign Minister Wang Yi focused on global security and economic stability. As permanent members of the UN Security Council and two major global economies, the Foreign Ministers discussed working together to support international stability at a time of growing geopolitical tension," it noted.
While in China, Cooper again stressed the urgency of reopening the Strait of Hormuz without tolls or charges, preventing nuclear proliferation in Iran and maintaining stability in the wider West Asia region.
“She underlined the need for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, urging China to end economic support for Russia’s illegal war,” the FCDO said.
Cooper and Wang Yi are said to have discussed a “range of other foreign and security policy issues”, including efforts to achieve an end to the conflict in Sudan, and the importance of coordinated international support to respond to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
