London, 18 Dec: The ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the UK will begin a new round of discussions in the New Year after the 13th round was completed last week, a joint outcome statement issued by the British government said on Monday.
The UK’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said the 14th round will continue to negotiate complex issues towards an agreement next month, without indicating any schedule for conclusion.
The India-UK FTA talks began in January last year with the aim of significantly enhancing the GBP 36-billion bilateral trading partnership.
“The thirteenth round of negotiations for the UK-India Free Trade Agreement took place from 18 September to 15 December,” reads the DBT joint outcome statement.
“The round included sessions both in person, in London and Delhi, and virtual talks. As with round 12, these negotiations focused on complex issues including goods, services, and investment. The UK and India will continue to negotiate towards a comprehensive and ambitious Free Trade Agreement. The fourteenth round of negotiations will take place in January 2024,” it said.
With both India and the UK heading into a general election year in 2024, signing off on a trade agreement has taken on particular urgency with the end of February 2024 now seen as the outer time limit before leaders on both sides get into campaign mode.
A team from 10 Downing Street representing British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was in New Delhi earlier this month to add momentum to the 13th round of negotiations.
Under the format so far, the 14th round is likely to be hosted by London, with talks taking place between officials in a hybrid format both in person and virtually.
“We have made substantial progress… I think both sides are very aware of the importance of the FTA and will make the utmost effort to get there. So, we have to take it as it happens,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told reporters following his meetings with Sunak and other senior Cabinet ministers during a UK visit last month.
There had been some speculation that cricket enthusiast Sunak would be following up his first India visit as UK PM for the G20 Summit in September with some cricket diplomacy at the England versus India World Cup clash in Lucknow on October 29 when the highly anticipated FTA could be signed off. However, the internal political turmoil of a Cabinet reshuffle within the Tory party and the Israel-Hamas conflict on the global front were said to have side-tracked focus.
“We are very close We will finish when we finish,” UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch told a House of Commons committee when questioned about timelines recently. (PTI)