London, 4 Sep: The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) being negotiated between India and the UK is in the final stages with both sides within finger-touching distance to clinch an agreement, NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam said here on Wednesday.
\nThe FTA, negotiations for which were launched in January 2022 before being stalled due to general elections in both countries, is aimed at significantly enhancing the estimated GBP 38.1 billion a year bilateral trading partnership.
\nDuring the signing ceremony for the new UK-India Infrastructure Financing Bridge (UKIIFB) agreement, both sides were keen to stress that the bilateral partnership is not being held \u201chostage\u201d to the FTA even as the newly elected governments on both sides remain committed to it.
\n\u201cI think this is a deal that is in the last slab. The two sides I would say are not even at hand-shaking distance, the fingers are touching. It\u2019s just a question of that extra five inches and you can grab the deal,\u201d Subrahmanyam said while addressing a panel discussion on the future of India-UK trade.
\n\u201cThe relationship between two countries should not be hostage to a trade deal\u2026 India-UK partnership has many, many dimensions to it \u2013 infrastructure finance, climate, technology\u2026 FTAs enable a sense of familiarity to get things accelerated, in addition to massive opportunities, not only in goods but in services on both sides. It\u2019s a perfect fit, perfect match,\u201d he said.
\nThe UKIIFB, signed between NITI Aayog and City of London Corporation in London on Wednesday, is aimed at facilitating international investments into India\u2019s ambitious infrastructure projects and is seen as a sign of the economic partnership moving at pace unencumbered by the FTA talks.
\n\u201cI\u2019m not betraying any negotiating secrets when I tell you, we believe we are close. But, of course, the proof of the pudding is not just in the eating, but in ensuring that it comes out of the oven at the right time. So, we are in the process of sort of getting the last bits in place and those are always the hard yards,\u201d said Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.
\n\u201cBut the FTA, in totality, is a very important part but (only) one part of the larger strategic relationship we seek to have the UK\u2026 that includes opportunities such as this UKIIFB to look at the financial services sector and essentially create a long-term viable channel for capital to be deployed profitably in India for the benefit of both economies; to look at technology; to look at research and innovation,\u201d he said.
\nBen Mellor, Director at the UK\u2019s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) India and Indian Ocean Directorate, noted that the newly elected Labour government had the India FTA \u2013 talks for which began under the former Conservative regime \u2013 as a manifesto commitment.
\n\u201cIt is something that we will seek to get agreement on as soon as possible. I think we need to be very realistic about the prospects and the challenges that still remain to get the deal across the line,\u201d said Mellor, referencing the \u201cprotectionist instincts\u201d within sections of both economies.
\n\u201cThe deal will deliver economic opportunity, growth and jobs in both our countries. Therefore, it is really important for those of us who are strong believers in the UK-India relationship to continue to make the case for why a good, substantial free trade agreement is in both our country\u2019s interests. But an FTA is not the only thing that speaks to that relationship,\u201d he said.
\nUK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds had announced at the end of July that teams would be \u201centering negotiating rooms as soon as possible\u201d, with the trade talks expected to pick up from the fourteenth round where they were left off. (PTI)
\nChris Hayward, Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation, indicated that things are going through a \u201cverification process\u201d of what has been agreed so far and to assess the outstanding issues to take the FDA forward. (PTI)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
London, 4 Sep: The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) being negotiated between India and the UK is in the final stages with both sides within finger-touching distance to clinch an agreement, NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam said here on Wednesday. The FTA, negotiations for which were launched in January 2022 before being stalled due to general […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-247865","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-national"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247865\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}