India, UK to resume Free Trade Agreement talks; UK Minister to visit India next week

New Delhi, [India], February 21 (ANI): India and the United Kingdom are set to relaunch negotiations on the long-pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA), sources told ANI.

As part of the discussions, UK Minister for Trade Douglas Alexander is expected to visit India next week and meet Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal.

The two leaders will discuss ways to accelerate the FTA talks, which have been under negotiation for a long time. The agreement aims to enhance trade and investment between both countries by reducing tariffs and easing market access for businesses.

India and the UK have been working towards a comprehensive trade deal that could boost economic cooperation in key sectors such as goods, services, technology, and investment. The upcoming discussions between Alexander and Goyal are expected to address key concerns and find common ground to move the negotiations forward.

Following a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of G20 Summit in Brazil, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the relaunch of FTA talks between United Kingdom and India in 2025.

Earlier on November 22, Richard Heald, Chair of the UK-India Business Council (UKIBC), said that the FTA between India and the UK holds transformative potential for businesses and bilateral trade.He stated that the FTA will make a difference by making the commutation between both countries easier.

“If you look at those companies who are not here (India), then the FTA will make a difference. It (FTA) will make it easier and more comforting to come here to India and to get embedded into the economy, be that through a joint venture or be it actually through investment directly,” he said.

On November 27, Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Vikram Doraiswami, said that the Keir Starmer government is ready to restart negotiations with India and added that the Free Trade Agreement is an “ongoing process” as they completed their internal review in July.

India-UK FTA negotiations were launched on 13th January 2022. Thirteen Rounds of negotiations have been held till December 2023.

The 14th Round of Negotiations, which began on 10th January 2024, was underway when negotiations were paused by UK side in May 2024 due to their elections.

Consequent to the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom H.E. Sir Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the UK announced the relaunch of the India-UK Free Trade talks.

The UK and India will continue to negotiate towards a comprehensive and ambitious Free Trade Agreement.