India-UK: United Kingdom’s trade secretary Kemi Badenoch to discuss Free Trade Agreement in Delhi today

New Delhi: United Kingdom's Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch will be in Delhi from today as the 6th round of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between the UK and India begin. Both sides are working on an ambitious trade pact that aims to ease customs duties on goods. Secretary Kemi is the second top minister to come to Delhi from the new Rishi Sunak govt that took charge in October. UK foreign secretary James Cleverly was in India in October to attend the UN counter-terror committee meeting. Ahead of her visit, Secretary Kemi said, "India and the UK are the 5th and 6th biggest economies in the world. We have a long shared history and are in pole position to do a deal that will create jobs, encourage growth, and boost our £29 billion (around 2900 crores) trading relationship.”

She will hold a meeting with India's trade minister Piyush Goyal, in person to meet between the 2 sides and address negotiating teams of the 2 sides. The Free trade talks between India and UK were launched in January with the conclusion by Diwali but due to the political crisis in Britain, the deadline was missed.

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London has high hopes for the pact in the backdrop of Brexit and aims to tap one the largest economies in the world through it. The 6th round of talks in Delhi is the first formal talk on the issue since July.

Expressing optimism ahead of the visit, the UK secretary said, "both nations have come to the table with the very highest of ambitions and a willingness to work together towards a mutually beneficial deal. I’m excited about the opportunities we can create for British business." Merchandise trade between the two countries was US$15.45 billion in 2019-20 with the trade balance in favor of India. India invested in 120 projects and created 5,429 new jobs in the UK to become the second-largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) after the US in 2019 according to the Department for International Trade (DIT).