UK Trade Secretary Visiting India To Launch Next Round Of Talks On Free Trade Agreement

NEW DELHI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2022) UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch is visiting India to meet with high-ranking officials and open the sixth round of talks between the UK and India on a free trade agreement, the British High Commission in New Delhi said on Monday.

"Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch arrives in New Delhi today... for the sixth round of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between the UK and India. Badenoch will meet her counterpart, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, in person for the first time, aiming to... reinvigorate talks on an ambitious bilateral trade deal," the statement read.

The UK official is also going to meet with representatives of India's leading businesses to discuss joint investment projects and their role in current trade relations between India and the UK, the diplomatic mission said.

According to the British High Commission, Badenoch will hold a meeting with senior negotiators of the two countries and officially open a new round of talks that is expected to be taking place throughout the week.

"Both nations have come to the table with the very highest of ambitions and a willingness to work together towards a mutually beneficial deal. I am excited about the opportunities we can create for British business," the trade secretary said in a statement, adding that the deal would boost "29 billion Pounds ($35.5 billion) trading relationship."

The upcoming round of talks will be the first on this matter since July, with the official negotiations on the deal launched in January. A free trade agreement between London and New Delhi will aim at cutting tariffs, providing more opportunities for UK and Indian companies in their markets and increasing bilateral trade to up to $100 billion by 2030.