India, UK looking at possible visit of PM Sunak to New Delhi soon

India and the UK are looking at a possible visit to New Delhi by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak soon but it may finally depend on whether the two sides could resolve the remaining differences to firm up the much-awaited free trade agreement (FTA), people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The two sides were exploring the possibility of having the visit around October 28 but nothing has been finalised yet, they said, suggesting that the visit is linked to the finalisation of the ambitious FTA.

The two sides are learnt to have finalised around 24 of the 26 chapters in the FTA and are now looking at sealing it by bridging differences on certain contentious issues, including mobility of people and import duty concessions on certain items, they said.

It is learnt that both sides were even looking at the possibility of Sunak watching the India-England World Cup one-day international cricket match in Lucknow on October 29.

There is no finality on the visit, the people cited above said, adding that it may depend on whether both sides are able to finalise the free trade deal.

Sunak visited India last month to attend the G20 Summit. On the sidelines of the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sunak held bilateral talks.

In the talks, Modi and Sunak reviewed the progress of the FTA negotiations and expressed hope that the remaining issues could be addressed at the earliest so that a balanced, mutually beneficial and forward-looking trade deal is concluded soon.

In April last year, the two sides set a Diwali deadline for concluding the FTA but the deal could not be finalised in view of differences over certain issues as well as political developments in the United Kingdom.

The India-UK relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the India-UK virtual summit held between Modi and his then British counterpart, Boris Johnson, in May 2021.

At the summit, the two sides adopted a 10-year roadmap to expand ties in the key areas of trade and economy, defence and security, climate change and people-to-people connections, among others.

Ahead of the G20 Summit, Sunak told PTI that there was "still some way to go" for the FTA with India, but appeared confident that the final outcome will be a "forward-looking" and "modern" deal that would benefit both sides and facilitate the shared ambition of doubling trade by 2030.

He also said the trade deal could help Indian exporters gain access to the British market, including India's 48 million (4.8 crore) small and medium enterprises.

"A modern, forward-looking free trade agreement can put us firmly on the path to our shared ambition of doubling UK-India trade by 2030," Sunak said.

"It is very exciting to have this opportunity to expand our trade relationship, and to be the first European country that India has negotiated a free trade deal with," he said.