India UK Relation

In a bid to bring negotiations back on track, the UK Home Office is planning to make an announcement in the coming weeks and a crackdown on Sikh extremists

At the conclusion of the seventh round of India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations and ahead of the eighth round scheduled in New Delhi next month, a senior industry expert in the UK believes there are encouraging signs of appetite on both sides to agree a deal and fully utilise its benefits. Syma Cullasy-Aldridge is the Chief Campaigns Director at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and has just returned after leading the group's first-ever business delegation to New Delhi and Mumbai aimed at unlocking opportunities of a potential FTA. The Indian-origin campaigns chief for the industry body, which speaks on behalf of 190,000 UK businesses of all sizes and sectors, described the visit as really, really brilliant in highlighting the immense scope for partnership and collaboration across key sectors. What really struck me was the opportunity and appetite on both sides for collaboration and partnership around key sectors like green finance, innovation and new technology

The United Kingdom on Thursday expressed its greetings for India's 74th Republic Day with a personal message from the country's foreign minister James Cleverly to his Indian counterpart, Dr S. Jaishankar. UK Foreign Secretary Cleverly took to Twitter to wish his friend and the people of India on the celebration of the day India adopted its Constitution to become a Republic. Happy Republic Day to my friend Dr Jaishankar and the people of India. We look forward to another year of friendship and cooperation! #RepublicDay2023, tweeted Cleverly. The Indian High Commission in London held its customary flag-hoisting ceremony at India House on Thursday morning. The Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, addressed the diaspora gathering to convey the speech of Indian President Droupadi Murmu. The Indian Constitution is a pretty remarkable document in itself. But also because it created at its get-go an equality of expectation among every citizen of India, regardless of race,

Britain's trade minister in charge of negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with India says clinching a high-quality deal is among her top priorities for the year, while admitting the talks had hit a "bit of an impasse which she broke by flying to New Delhi last month. In a speech addressing business leaders at Lancaster House in London on Tuesday, UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch insisted the FTA talks are now back on track. It comes after the Diwali 2022 deadline for the FTA set by former prime minister Boris Johnson was missed last October amid political turmoil in Britain. "Some of you will know I was a software engineer and a systems analyst before I became a politician. That means I'm a problem solver at heart, said Badenoch. "So when our Indian trade talks hit a bit of an impasse, I didn't pick up the phone, I got on a plane. That deal's not done yet, but it's back on track, she said. Badenoch was in New Delhi in early December to hold talks with her counterpart, Commerce

The MEA statement said that India and the UK share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with the adoption of Roadmap 2030 for Future Relations

Both sides discussed issues like trade and economic cooperation, defence and security, science and technology, people-to-people relationship, health and climate change

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Sixth round of negotiations begins in New Delhi after a four-month hiatus

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated the UK's commitment to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India as part of the country's wider focus on enhancing ties with the Indo-Pacific region. Delivering a talk Monday night at the Lord Mayor of London's Banquet -- his first major foreign policy speech since taking charge at 10 Downing Street last month -- the British-Indian leader reflected upon his heritage and committed to promoting British values of "freedom and openness" around the world. He also pledged to "do things differently" when it came to China, which he said poses a "systemic challenge" to British values and interests. "Before I came into politics, I invested in businesses around the world. And the opportunity in the Indo-Pacific is compelling," said Sunak. "By 2050, the Indo-Pacific will deliver over half of global growth compared with just a quarter from Europe and North America combined. That's why we're joining the Trans-Pacific trade deal, the CPTPP, deliveri

UK India Business Council MD lists four "Ps" to explains why he is confident the deal will happen

The draft has also proposed to prohibit pre-grant oppositions, which means that India will not be able to stop challenges to weak/invalid patents until after they have been granted

The Ukraine conflict and the situation in Indo-Pacific figured prominently in talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and visiting British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. Cleverly arrived in India on Friday on a two-day visit primarily to attend a special meeting of the UN Security Council Counter Terrorism Committee. "Delighted to welcome UK Foreign Secretary @JamesCleverly on his first India visit; shortly after our meeting in New York last month," Jaishankar tweeted. "Noted the progress in our Roadmap 2030. Also discussed the Ukraine conflict and the Indo-Pacific," he added. It is the first visit by a top-ranking official from Britain after Rishi Sunak took charge as the UK's first Indian-origin prime minister on Tuesday. During the visit, the British foreign secretary announced further collaboration between the UK and India through British International Investment. This included 11 million Pound of UK funding invested in Kinara Capital, a woman-led fintech comp

No discussion on immigration visas, says Greg Hands in response to question about another minister's controversial comment

Greg Hands, the UK Minister for Trade Policy, called India an "economic superpower" and says an FTA would improve access to its "dynamic market", media reports said

The Diwali timeline for a draft FTA had been announced by former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi in April

Trade experts said that it will be interesting to see if the UK will be willing to sign the trade deal, without India giving any commitments on the new-age trade issues

India on Friday said it is carrying out negotiations with the UK for the early finalisation of a free trade agreement that is beneficial to both the sides. In April, the two sides had set a Diwali deadline for concluding the FTA but the deal is set to be pushed back to November in view of differences over certain issues. "There are ongoing negotiations as we know on the FTA. There is interest on both sides to see if we can work towards a deal, an FTA, that is beneficial to both the countries at an early date," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. "This is a trade negotiation...let this be dealt by trade negotiators," he said. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a telephonic conversation with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. "A good conversation with UK Foreign Secretary @JamesCleverly.Reviewed various aspects of our bilateral relationship and committed to taking forward Roadmap 2030 expeditiously. Look forward to an early in-perso

Intensive negotiations are ongoing to meet the target to conclude the majority of the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) talks by Diwali, UK government sources said on Thursday. Officials said that both countries continue to negotiate a high-ambition free trade agreement that could boost the UK economy by more than GBP 3 billion by 2035. The UK and India set a target to conclude most of the talks by Diwali (24th October) and intensive negotiations are ongoing, sources said. Officials familiar with the negotiations also sought to realign the issue of mobility by drawing a distinction between temporary business visas and long-term migration, saying business mobility is not the same as immigration because business mobility covers the temporary entry for talent to work for a specific time period in a trade partner country. Any commitments we seek on temporary entry will aim to encourage the best and brightest talent in India to temporarily work in the UK, official sources said. It ..

UK FM James Cleverly said Britain wanted to have an even stronger trading relationship with India after reports that remarks by a fellow minister about immigrants could put future deal in doubt

Braverman's remarks on Indians overstaying in the UK have reportedly annoyed the officials in New Delhi and the India-UK FTA is on a verge of collapse