The Free Trade Agreement between India and the UK is all but ready with both sides 'very close' to finalizing the deal, said NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam on Wednesday. The FTA, which kicked off in January last year but was put on hold after elections in both countries, will hugely ramp up the GBP 38.1 billion annual trade partnership between the two nations.
Signing the UK-India Infrastructure Financing Bridge Agreement was accompanied by affirmations from both sides that the general bilateral relationship was moving ahead independently of the FTA negotiations. I think this is a deal which is in the last slab. The two sides. are not even at hand-shaking distance, the fingers are touching. It's just a question of that extra five inches and you can grab the deal," said Subrahmanyam during a panel discussing the future of India-UK trade.
He further stated that the entire relationship between India and the UK was not limited to a trade deal, but touched on other key areas such as infrastructure finance, climate, and technology, while underlining massive potential that would be opened up with an FTA in goods and services. UKIIFB has been signed between NITI Aayog and the City of London Corporation with a committed aim to facilitate international investments into India's infrastructure projects. This testifies to the momentum of the economic partnership, despite ongoing FTA talks.
We believe we are close. But. 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," the Indian High Commissioner to the UK said, underscoring the hurdles to finalising the remaining details.
The FTA is a central part of the wider strategic relationship between the two, combined with initiatives such as UKIIFB, which was set up to promote and develop long-term financial cooperation. Ben Mellor from the UK's FCDO said that the new Labour administration in the UK is committed to the FTA through its manifesto, but also added there will be a need to address protectionist concerns on both economies. He underlined, "The deal will deliver economic opportunity, growth and jobs in both our countries."
UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds previously said the negotiations would restart soon, picking up from where they left off after the fourteenth round. Meanwhile, Chris Hayward, Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation, said "verification processes" were still ongoing, going over agreed terms and outstanding issues, and he also hopes the deal will pay strong attention to services.
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