UK to restart trade talks with India early next year

The United Kingdom is preparing to restart trade negotiations with India, Downing Street has announced.

It has been confirmed that talks will resume early next year, following a bilateral meeting between Sir Keir Starmer and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit.

The government is seeking a new strategic partnership with New Delhi that goes beyond trade and also addresses areas such as security and education.

The Prime Minister said a deal between the world's fifth and sixth economies would help support UK jobs, with the trade relationship with India worth $42 billion over 12 months until June 2024, according to Downing Street.

Sir Keir said: “Driving economic growth is essential to improving workers’ living standards.

A new trade deal with India will support jobs and prosperity in the UK and is a step forward in our mission to generate growth and opportunity across our country.

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has described India as a vital trading partner for the UK.

In a statement marking the announcement, he said: From reducing Indian tariffs to help UK businesses export to this dynamic market to boosting investment which already supports more than 600,000 jobs in the two countries, it is important to conclude an agreement to fulfill the government's main mission: to drive economic growth.

In July, Mr Reynolds said the UK aimed to build better trading relationships with countries around the world.

Asked about the possible consequences of the agreements on access to the British labor market, Downing Street said the negotiations and any agreement would be anchored in the UK's national interest and that the position on migration had not changed .

The government's position on reducing net migration comes first, the Prime Minister's official spokesperson said. We obviously only accept deals that are anchored in the UK’s national interest.

Discussions between New Delhi and London on a trade deal had stalled under the last government.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson previously said he wanted a deal to be reached by October 2022 to coincide with Diwali celebrations. Although Rishi Sunak's administration has refused to set a target date for signing a deal.

Earlier this year, the UK and India signed a program to strengthen cooperation on artificial intelligence and technology.

Foreign Minister David Lammy visited India and the technology security initiative was approved by the two countries' national security advisers following negotiations.

The announcement comes ahead of the second day of the G20 summit, where Sir Keir is expected to hold talks with other foreign leaders.

The prime minister told Chinese President Xi Jinping that he wanted respectful relations with Beijing during their bilateral talks on Monday.

The prime minister raised the case of detained pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, a sign he was ready to challenge China over its human rights abuses, but he also signaled his desire for greater cooperation from businesses.

Sir Keir also suggested a full UK-China meeting in London or Beijing, as part of his desire to establish cohesive, lasting and respectful ties between the two countries.

However, Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel said the Prime Minister should have been tougher in raising our concerns about human rights after the meeting.

She said in a statement: Britain's position on the world stage risks being weakened if the Prime Minister does not vigorously defend our national interests.

While it is important to have a constructive diplomatic dialogue with China, the Prime Minister should have more strongly expressed our concerns about human rights, the repressive nature of the national security laws imposed on Hong Kong, as well as as the safety, security and well-being of British citizens. nationals, like Jimmy Lai, who should be released.

The meeting with Xi preceded discussions with other countries, including Australia and Japan.

Besides the economy, Ukraine featured in a number of Sir Keir's talks with world leaders on Monday.

According to information released by Downing Street, leaders at meetings in Japan and Australia agreed to double down on their support for kyiv.

As Tuesday marks the thousandth day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the prime minister questioned whether Storm Shadow missiles would be authorized for use by Ukraine against Russian targets, after President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use weapons supplied by the United States.

The prime minister refused to go into operational details when TV networks asked him on Monday because the only winner, if we had to do it, is (Vladimir) Putin, and I'm not prepared to do that.