New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS) Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, on Monday said that India and the UK have decided to restart negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), after a meeting here with his UK counterpart Jonathan Reynolds. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Keir Starmer met on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in November last year to underline the importance of resuming trade negotiations at an early date. The latest announcement is an outcome of the discussions held at the level of Prime Ministers of the two countries.

"All options are on the table. We are in active negotiations on three different aspects - the FTA, the Bilateral Investment Treaty, and a Double Contribution Convention Agreement. And all three are in parallel and conjoined with each other," Goyal said. Reynolds said India is a vital partner for the UK in an increasingly volatile and multipolar world. “We have kickstarted negotiations for UK and India FTA again. Through these talks we want to secure a mutually beneficial agreement," added Reynolds, the UK Business and Trade Secretary, who is in India on a three-day visit.

Goyal made it clear that India would not rush into a trade agreement in haste. “We will have speed but not haste," he quipped when asked whether a deadline had been fixed to sign the deal. Reynolds said, “There is really an urgency and this is a top priority for the UK government and has strong support from the UK Prime Minister and key cabinet colleagues." However, for the UK it is also about the quality of the trade agreements rather than the speed of delivering them, he added. The UK and India have been negotiating an FTA since January 2022 under the previous Conservative-led government. The current Labour Party government too has expressed desire to continue these talks.

There are 26 chapters in the agreement, which include goods, services, investments, and intellectual property rights. While the UK is seeking a lowering of tariffs on goods such as electric vehicles and Scotch whisky, India wants easier visa rules for its professionals in the services sector to enter the UK. India and the United Kingdom have a close partnership, built through collaboration on security and defence, new and emerging technologies, climate, health, education, research and innovation, green finance and people-to-people contacts. At the centre of this relationship is the collective aspiration to deliver economic growth and sustainable development. Both sides have agreed to resume negotiations towards a balanced, mutually beneficial and a forward-looking deal that delivers mutual growth and builds on the strengths of the two complementary economies.

/IANS