India-uk Ties

Beyond the missed deadlines, India-UK FTA talks at a tricky turning point

India and the UK are set to relaunch free trade agreement talks next month under Keir Starmer's Labour Party, facing critical challenges including unresolved issues and shifting political priorities

Higher exports and migration marked post-Covid UK ties with India

India is among the largest sources of investments into UK

IGF to spotlight UK-India ties as bridge between polls in both countries

The annual India Global Forum (IGF) in London is set to spotlight UK-India strategic ties bridged between general elections in both countries next month, with a line up of senior ministers, entrepreneurs and analysts weighing up the future trajectory of bilateral ties under newly elected governments. IGF London, confirmed this week to be held between June 24 and 28, will cover the full spectrum of the partnership including the course of the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations. The India-UK FTA talks began in January 2022 and are now stalled in the fourteenth round of talks as both countries stepped into their general election cycles this year. Regardless of which governments come to power, a series of opportunities, and certainly challenges, await them; that's why IGF London 2024 is set to be a crucial event in the diary, serving as a major economic and geopolitical stocktake, offering vital insights and informing the strategic direction for any new administration, said Manoj ...

Good market access offered on both sides, says UK on India FTA talks

There has been good market access offered on both sides but not enough to secure a free trade agreement (FTA), the UK government has said as Indian negotiators are in London this week to continue discussions with their British counterparts. During a debate in the House of Lords this week, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron was addressing questions from British peers on the current state of freedom of religion or belief in India. The recent restructuring of the BBC to create a new Indian-owned entity in order to comply with the country's foreign direct investment (FDI) rules was flagged by Liberal Democrat peer Lord Jeremy Purvis, who questioned the level of market access being offered to India in the field of media, data and telecoms as part of the FTA negotiations. My understanding of where we are with the trade deal is that good market access has been offered on both sides, but not quite enough yet to secure a deal. It is important with such trade deals, as you only really get one

India, UK aim to sign free-trade agreement by July; legal vetting on

The timeline for finalising the FTA continues to remain crucial even after the conclusion of the Lok Sabha elections in early June, since the UK will get close to its general election thereafter

UK team heads back to London with Round 14 of FTA talks still open

Sources said the UK is "proud" of all that has been achieved so far and that the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak-led government remains committed to securing a "comprehensive and ambitious" FTA and BIT

India-UK FTA: Goyal, Badenoch meet to decide future course of action

The ministers are expected to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization's four-day summit - the 13th Ministerial Conference -- in Abu Dhabi

India, UK relationship 'force for good': UK home secretary James Cleverly

Terming the UK-India relationship a "force for good", British Home Secretary James Cleverly has said that the two countries can work to prevent conflict from spilling over and engulfing other parts of the world. Speaking at India Global Forum's 6th annual UK-India Parliamentary Lunch at the House of Lords on Wednesday, Cleverly said that the intellectual horsepower of India is enormous and getting bigger. The intellectual horsepower of India is enormous and getting bigger. Whether it is dealing with potential future pandemics or dealing with non-communicable diseases or dealing with the opportunities and risks of Artificial Intelligence or financial services or sustainable agriculture, I struggle to think of any sector where coordination and cooperation between the UK and India will not be a force for good in the world, he said. Against the backdrop of major global conflicts, and following the first visit by an Indian Defence Minister (Rajnath Singh) to Britain in 22 years, Cleverly

England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir receives Indian visa, For Test series

England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was on Wednesday granted visa to travel to India for the five-match Test series beginning from Thursday, announced the country's cricket board. Bashir will now travel to India from London this weekend to join his teammates and can be in contention for an England Test debut for the second match at Visakhapatnam. Shoaib Bashir has now received his visa, and is due to travel to join up with the team in India this weekend. We're glad the situation has now been resolved, said the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in a statement. The delay in issuance of an Indian visa to rookie off-spinner Bashir had snowballed into a major controversy ahead of the first Test in Hyderabad. England skipper Ben Stokes called the turn of events "frustrating" while a British government spokesperson demanded "fair" treatment of the youngster. The 20-year-old Pakistan-origin cricketer, who plays for Somerset in the English county, had to head back home from the team's Ab

India-UK FTA: 'Majority of issues closed or at advanced stage of talks'

Majority of the issues in the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the UK are either finalised or at an advanced stage of talks, a government official said on Monday. Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce L Satya Srinivas said that the 14th round of negotiations between the officials of the two countries is underway here. "The majority of the chapters are either closed or at an advanced stage of negotiation. Discussions are being held at the higher level as well as at the team level to iron out differences," he told reporters here. The talks for the pact began in January 2022. The current round of talks is expected to be the final one. Talks are also progressing on the proposed Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). There are 26 chapters in the agreement, which include goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights. Issues from both goods and services are pending for conclusion. The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to US

Rajnath Singh, David Cameron praise momentum of India-UK partnership

Cameron reiterated the UK government's desire to collaborate with India in defence areas. The leaders held the meeting at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

India-UK FTA talks: Trying to balance mobility, migration concerns

After a high-level UK delegation visited India to iron out the differences, currently, an Indian delegation is in London to advance discussions

India, UK seek to wrap up trade negotiations before busy election year

It's the 13th round of negotiations on a deal intended to expand a trading relationship that was worth more than $24 billion last year

India-UK FTA: Issues to be resolved in coming weeks, says Piyush Goyal

Goyal said both sides had several rounds of negotiations, and 20 out of 26 chapters have been sealed

India raises concerns over potential carbon taxes in UK FTA talks: Report

Earlier this year, Britain initiated consultations with domestic stakeholders on measures such as a potential carbon border tax, which could mimic the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism.

India, UK negotiations in full swing for proposed FTA to bridge differences

Negotiations between senior officials of India and the UK are in "full swing" to bridge differences on issues such as rules of origin and services sector, with an aim to conclude the talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) at the earliest, sources said. They said that a small Indian team is also there in London to iron out differences on the rules of origin. "The 13th round of talks are going on. The tough issues are there in both goods and services such as financial services. Talks are also happening on the proposed bilateral investment treaty," one of the sources said, adding differences on intellectual property rights have been bridged. When asked whether the negotiations will be concluded by the end of this month, the source said both the countries are continuously engaging on the remaining differences and We should wait till these negotiations are over". There were reports that the two countries may finalise the agreement by the end of this month. Commerce Secretary

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 abov

British delegation to commence next round of India-UK FTA talks on Oct 9

A 30-member official delegation from the UK will start the next round of negotiations for a free trade agreement with the Indian team here from Monday to close remaining issues so that the two countries conclude the talks soon, an official has said. Both countries have recently concluded the 13th round of negotiations. A team led by Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal was in London last week to give an impetus to the talks. The UK team dealing with investment-related matters is already here, and the talks for the proposed bilateral investment treaty (BIT) with finance ministry officials are progressing at a faster pace. "The 30-member team will be here tomorrow, and both sides are attempting to close the remaining issues, such as rules of origin. Everything is at the closure level," the official said. The 'rules of origin' provision prescribes that minimal processing should happen in the FTA country so that the final manufactured product may be referred to as goods originating in tha

From FTA to FinTech: Highlights from India-UK Economic Financial Dialogue

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt discuss collaborations in financial services, infrastructure, and trade

India, UK officials to start 13th round of FTA talks from September 4

Senior officials of India and the UK will start the 13th round of negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement from September 4, an official said on Thursday. The two sides concluded the 12th round of negotiations on August 31. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has recently stated that the negotiations between India and the UK for the proposed agreement are progressing and both countries are committed to concluding the talks as early as possible. UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch was here recently to review the progress of talks. She also held bilateral meetings with Goyal and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Before the 12th round, the sides had concluded talks on 19 of the total 26 chapters in the FTA. Investment is being negotiated as a separate agreement (bilateral investment treaty) between India and the UK. The bilateral trade between countries increased to USD 20.36 billion in 2022-23 from USD 17.5 billion in 2021-22.