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In the clearest sign yet that he had no intention of backing away from the controversial plan to send illegal migrants to Rwanda, the Prime Minister declared that \u201cwhere we lead others will follow\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ahead of meetings with world leaders at the G20 summit in India, the Prime Minister said that other countries are now looking at \u201csimilar solutions\u201d and said tackling this challenge would require \u201cglobal co-ordination\u201d.<\/p>\n
The PM also said Britain is working to strengthen migrant return agreements with a range of countries. And in a boost for Mr Sunak, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her country is ready to \u201cintensify\u201d co-\u00adoperation with the UK on migration.<\/p>\n
At the landmark gathering of world leaders:<\/p>\n
\u25cf Britain pledged \u00a31.6billion to help tackle climate change;<\/p>\n
\u25cf Mr Sunak met Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and said there is a \u201cdesire on both of our parts to see a successful trade deal concluded\u201d;<\/p>\n
\u25cf World leaders agreed a joint statement on Ukraine in which they condemned the \u201cuse of force\u201d to seize territory;<\/p>\n
\u25cf The PM insisted reaching net zero \u201cshouldn\u2019t be a hair-shirt story of giving everything up\u201d and bills rising.<\/p>\n
When asked whether other countries are following his lead on the Rwanda scheme, he said: \u201cI said Britain would be tough but fair, and where Britain leads others will follow. We have been willing to take bold and radical action to tackle this problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said that other countries would look at similar solutions, and you can start to see that they are with the news from Austria and, more broadly, across Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Austria last week backed calls for a Rwanda-style scheme for EU members, with immigration a key electoral issue in Poland, Germany and the Netherlands later this year.<\/p>\n
READ MORE <\/strong> Removing empty migrant dinghies from the Channel costs taxpayers \u00a32m a year<\/strong><\/p>\n Describing his meeting with Ms Meloni \u2013 at which the leaders discussed working \u201ccloser together\u201d on migration \u2013 he said: \u201cShe and I have a view that this is an important topic that needs us to work together.<\/p>\n So that won\u2019t be the last of these conversations I have.\u201d Ms Meloni, who sipped an Aperol spritz while Mr Sunak drank water during their meeting, defended Britain\u2019s Rwanda policy earlier this year, saying it was a deal between two free nations which were safeguarding the safety of people, and that it was wrong to call it a deportation.<\/p>\n An upcoming Supreme Court ruling will determine whether flights carrying migrants to Rwanda can take off. Mr Sunak said that Britain had been \u201cout in front, leading the conversation\u201d on \u00adtackling illegal immigration.<\/p>\n It comes as Sir Keir Starmer will this week launch an audacious bid to prove Labour is tougher on illegal immigration than the Con\u00ad\u00adservatives, by announcing plans for a \u00adspecialist unit in the National Crime Agency to fight people-smuggling gangs.<\/p>\n British officials will work with border officials overseas, with the crackdown funded by scrapping the Government\u2019s scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, Sir Keir will say.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n At the summit, in a further sign that Mr Sunak does not want Britain to retreat from the world stage, the UK pledged \u00a31.6billion to support efforts to tackle climate change.<\/p>\n He said Britons wanted the UK to help \u201csolve some of the world\u2019s biggest problems\u201d. The funds will go towards the Green Climate Fund, which was established by 194 countries following the Copenhagen Accord at COP15.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cThe UK is stepping up and delivering on our climate commitments, both by decarbonising our own economy and supporting the world\u2019s most vulnerable to deal with the impact of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Sunak defended efforts to achieve net zero carbon emissions, saying: \u201cNet zero done in the right way can be very beneficial for jobs. The net zero story shouldn\u2019t be a hair-shirt story of giving everything up and your bills going up.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, he argued: \u201cThe vision of net zero that commands the most support and is the right one is one that recognises it\u2019s important for our kids and our grandkids to leave the environment in a better state than we found it. I believe that.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we need to do that in a way that creates jobs for people and spreads opportunity.\u201d A key goal for the PM is securing a trade deal with India that would win new access to this market of 1.4 billion people.<\/p>\n After his meeting with Mr Modi, he said: \u201cThe opportunities are there for both countries but there is a lot of hard work that is still to go and we need to work through that, as we will do.\u201d<\/p>\n The two men hugged each other and Mr Sunak praised the Indian space mission that saw it successfully land on the far side of the Moon last month.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/secondary\/4952026.jpg?r=1694294245159\")
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