UK Trade Minister In India To Start Sixth Round Of FTA Negotiations According to official UK government data, India-UK bilateral trade currently stands at around 29.6 billion pounds a year
By Teena Jose •
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International trade minister, leading the negotiators for the UK, Kemi Badenoch arrives in Delhi on Monday to begin the sixth round of free trade agreement negotiations between the UK and India. Badenoch will meet her counterpart commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal to hold bilateral talks, as per reports.
"I'm here in New Delhi to kickstart round six of UK-India trade negotiations and meet my counterpart, commerce and industry minister Goyal in person to drive progress on this agreement. Both nations have come to the table with the very highest ambitions and a willingness to work together towards a mutually beneficial deal. I'm excited about the opportunities we can create for British business," Badenoch said in a statement.
"India and the UK are the 5th and 6th biggest economies in the world. We have a long shared history, and are in pole position to do a deal that will create jobs, encourage growth and boost our 29 billion pounds trading relationship," she further added in the statement.
According to reports, India and Britain launched negotiations for the FTA in January with an aim to conclude talks by Diwali. It has reportedly 26 chapters, on goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights, of which 16 have been closed.
The UK government reportedly said that the target for the FTA is to achieve a deal to cut tariffs and open opportunities for UK services such as financial and legal, making it easier for British businesses to sell to the Indian economy, which is set to be the world's third largest with a middle class of 250 million people by 2050. Also, Indian industry is seeking greater access to the UK market for its goods, including bulk Indian-made whiskey.
According to official UK government data, India-UK bilateral trade currently stands at around 29.6 billion pounds a year. Both sides formally launched FTA negotiations at the start of this year with former Prime minister Boris Johnson announcing a Diwali deadline for its conclusion.
