UK-India FTA talks: ‘Thrilling’ opportunities await, says Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch
1 min read . Updated: 12 Dec 2022, 05:50 AM IST
PremiumUK trade minister in India to ‘kickstart’ new round of FTA talks
On December 12, the sixth round of free trade agreement (FTA) discussions will "kickstart" as UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has come to New Delhi for bilateral talks with her Indian colleague Piyush Goyal.
The latest round of talks is the first official gathering of the India and UK negotiating teams since July and the first since Rishi Sunak became prime minister of the United Kingdom. In advance of the sixth round of formal negotiations, slated to take place throughout the week, his Trade Secretary will address both teams of senior negotiators.
Both India and the UK have the determination to work together to produce a win-win accord as the possibilities that may open up for British enterprise are “thrilling", as per Badenoch who said she was in New Delhi to “kickstart" the next round of negotiations.
The Indian economy is expected to be the third largest in the world by 2050, with a middle class of 250 million people, according to the UK government, which stated that the goal of the FTA is to reach an agreement to reduce tariffs and provide chances for UK services like financial and legal.
The UK trade minister will also meet with business executives while in India to learn more about what they require from a "modern" UK-India trading relationship. This will involve a meeting with envoPAP, a UK business that is spending over £10 million ( ₹101 crore) to build a factory in India that will make Fair Trade paper and packaging materials.
With a long history of cooperation, India and the UK are well-positioned to strike a deal that will expand trade between the two countries, add employment, and promote economic growth. By the middle of the next decade, according to the UK's Department for International Trade (DIT), robust economic growth in India is anticipated to increase UK exports to India by over £9 billion ( ₹9 lakh crore).
A franchise agreement with Reliance Brands will allow Pret, a well-known British coffee and sandwich store, to build its first location in India early in 2023. With a goal of opening 100 locations nationwide, the chain's first location will be in Mumbai.
It mentioned food giant Pret A Manger, pioneers of the fintech industry Tide and Revolut, among others with expansion plans for India, pointing to numerous UK companies who are already benefiting from the strong trade connection.
(With PTI inputs)
