The United Kingdom (UK) is committed to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.
Terming the recent telephonic conversation between Sunak and PM Modi as "very warm", the spokesperson said that the two prime ministers, during the call, expressed their commitment towards an FTA.
The spokesperson further said that intensive negotiations are going on to ensure that the focus remains on a balanced trade deal that benefits both sides, adding no timeframe has been specified to conclude the deal. The FTA between India and UK was supposed to be concluded by Diwali but the timeline was abandoned in view of the sudden political developments in the UK.
Also Read | Modi speaks to Sunak, calls for early conclusion of FTA
"The Prime Minister had a very warm, introductory call with Prime Minister Modi last week. In terms of the speed of it [FTA], we have been very clear that we won't sacrifice quality to achieve speed. We will sign when we have a balanced deal that represents both of our interests but both sides remain committed," the spokesperson was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
"Both sides are very committed to it, intensive negotiations are continuing led by the Department for International Trade (DIT)," he added.
"The Prime Minister hoped the UK and India could continue to make good progress in negotiations to finalise a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement," a Downing Street readout of the call said.
Also Read | UK Home Secretary, MPs raise pitch for FTA at Diwali event
Rishi Sunak has been an ardent votary of a Free Trade Agreement with India. As the Chancellor of the Exchequer under Boris Johnson, he had termed financial services as a particularly "exciting" aspect of the bilateral trade relationship.
The two prime ministers are likely to meet in person at the G20 Summit in Indonesia later this month. They may also meet at the COP27 Summit in Egypt (Nov 6-18) but Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to confirm his participation in this meeting. PM Sunak has confirmed that he will attend the conference.
The FTA between the two countries will facilitate tariff reduction and easier imports and exports into each other's markets, among other things. The India-UK bilateral trade currently stands at around GBP 24.3 billion a year, according to the official UK government data and the two sides aim to double it by 2030.
