Welcome enhanced trade partnership between India, UK: UKIBC

"The UK India Business Council warmly welcomes the announcement today by UK Secretary of State for International Trade, Liz Truss, and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, that the Governments will establish an Enhanced Trade Partnership, which is the first step on a roadmap to a UK-India free trade agreement," it said.

The UKIBC on Friday welcomed the announcement by the UK and India that the two governments will establish an enhanced trade partnership, terming it as the first step on a roadmap to a bilateral free trade agreement. In a statement, the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) said UK and Indian ministers agreed to remove barriers to trade as part of a roadmap to a free trade agreement (FTA) at the first virtual Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO). It was the 14th JETCO meeting. "The UK India Business Council warmly welcomes the announcement today by UK Secretary of State for International Trade, Liz Truss, and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, that the Governments will establish an Enhanced Trade Partnership, which is the first step on a roadmap to a UK-India free trade agreement," it said. As part of their bilateral discussions, Truss and Goyal, joined by UK Minister for International Trade Ranil Jayawardena, and Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Hardeep Singh Puri, met business leaders representing bilateral working groups in three priority sectors -- food and drink; life science and healthcare; and digital and data services, UKIBC said. It further said the co-chairs of each working group presented a series of recommended market access reforms that would boost UK-India trade and investment in each of these sectors. The recommendations were drawn from detailed reports produced by the working groups, which consolidate feedback from a wide range of businesses from across the UK and India. The feedback was gratefully welcomed by the ministers, who committed to make progress to implement many of the recommendations, it said. Following the JETCO meeting, UKIBC Managing Director Kevin McCole said, "The enhanced trade partnership announced today, setting the path to a UK-India FTA, is an important signal that both the UK and India are committed to deepening an already strong partnership." It is also important that the governments are retaining their sharp focus on tackling market access barriers, which will not only expand bilateral trade and investment, but build confidence and momentum towards an FTA, he added. Later talking to PTI, McCole said, "So for me that is really important, the ambition that there could be an FTA between UK and India in the future, and in the meantime, we want to enhance the trade partnership." The UKIBC is a member-led advocacy and strategic advisory business working to promote trade and investment between the UK and India. UKIBC plays the role of a Secretariat for the JETCO talks and provides a forum for UK companies to enhance their links and develop new partnerships with Indian businesses. The three JETCO working groups were coordinated by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) along with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI).