The press release by Ministry posted on Thursday informed that the fifth round of talks for the India-UK FTA was concluded on 29 July. The press release also says that the ministry expects the FTA talks to be complete by the end of October.
The fifth round of FTA talks was conducted in a hybrid mode, with some teams meeting physically in New Delhi, while the majority of officials joined virtually.
The technical experts covered 15 policy areas in 85 separate sessions and came together with a detailed draft treaty for discussions. The experts belonged to both India and UK.
“Indian and UK officials will continue to work intensively throughout the summer towards our target to conclude the majority of talks on a comprehensive and balanced Free Trade Agreement by the end of October 2022," the press release said.
"India and the UK will continue to work intensively to meet the Diwali deadline at the end of October for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) announced during the India visit of outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson," a UK government statement said according to news agency PTI.
India-UK talks for Free Trade Agreement were launched in January but were under clouds due to the changing political equations in the UK. After the resignation of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, it became a little tricky to resume negotiations.
India UK trade mostly in services which accounts for about 70% of the overall trade. Both countries also aim to increase their bilateral trade to $100 billion by the end of this decade.
The government is also planning similar sort of FTAs with Canada, the EU, and Israel. Several other economic blocs do have similar interests.
