Our Bureau
New Delhi
The Indian Government is all set to sign the much awaited Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom in the upcoming month. The Prime Minister of the UK, Keir Starmer is expected to visit India and a formal signing ceremony would be held for the India-UK FTA.
As per the reports, the official visit of PM Keir Starmer was being planned to formally conclude what have been serious negotiations over the Free Trade Agreement. The discussions surrounding FTA was officially concluded on May 6th this year and since then both the nations were involved in legal scrubbing and internal clearances which have now been taken care of. This visit will be considered as a high-level bilateral engagement event.
A senior official while talking about the agreement has informed, “The legal vetting process has taken close to three months, and both countries are now aligning calendars for the formal signing.”
This visit will be PM Starmer’s first official visit to India as the Prime Minister of UK and thus the visit will carry heavy significance in terms of diplomatic and economic measures. The Free Trade Agreement will become the epicentre of the India-UK cooperation under the 2030 roadmap.
It is expected that the India-UK Free Trade Agreement will show a rise in market access, reduce tariffs. The Agreement will also include provisions for mutual recognition of qualifications, mobility of professionals, and a Double Social Security Contribution Agreement.
Even though the deal is going to be signed next month in July, the agreement will still take somewhere around a year to be operationalised considering the lengthy ratification process in the UK. The India-UK FTA is a way forward for India to finalise the high-value trade deals with complementary economies. The same can be said for the recent agreements with the United Arab Emirates and the European Free Trade Association.
