Earlier this week on Thursday, UK Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said a free trade agreement (FTA) between the UK and India is “absolutely achievable" by the Diwali timeline that has been set by Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi with only some technical legal aspects left to be resolved.
UK Trade Secretary confirmed that both India and UK are getting on with the market access aspects of a trade deal. The minister in-charge of the negotiations on the UK government side also said that some “compromise and cooperation" will be required on both the countries to get a deal over the line. “We have been set the challenge to get a deal by this Diwali, 24th October is seared in my brain," UK Trade Secretary said, during a UK-India Week forum on trade relations.
Additionally, the senior British Indian Cabinet minister said he sees enormous opportunity for both countries in areas such as fintech and welcomed the opening up of the Indian insurance market, while interacting with reporters ahead of India Global Forum's UK-India Awards celebrating Indian diaspora success within the UK-India corridor on Friday. “There's good progress being made and I think one of the exciting things for me in my role is financial services," he told PTI.
Financial service is an area where there's an enormous opportunity for both of our countries. India's goal is to spread insurance across the entire economy because insurance is a great thing for enabling protection for individuals and growth, he said. "We can help with that in the UK because we have a fantastic insurance industry. And bit by bit we've been able to provide more of those products, services and expertise to Indian firms and citizens and companies," he said.
During the interaction with Indian Journalists' Association (IJA), the senior Indian Cabinet minister said he is “very supportive of India playing an increasingly influential role in the region, and indeed, in the world" as a massive economy and the world's largest democracy and an FTA would prove a greater champion of that cause.
(With inputs from PTI)
