UK-India FTA will be firmed up quickly: Sunak – Times of India
LONDON: UK PM Rishi Sunak has said that the UK government remains committed to working “as quickly as possible” towards a successful conclusion to the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India, as the majority of the substantive negotiation conversations were completed at the end of last month.
At a House of Commons session on Thursday on the G20 Summit in Bali, Sunak said that he reviewed progress on the FTA during his first meeting with PM Narendra Modi since taking charge at 10 Downing Street. He was questioned by opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer and his own Conservative party MPs on the timeline for the completion of the agreement with India. “I discussed the free trade agreement with India, and both the Prime Minister of India and I committed our teams to working as quickly as possible to see if we can bring a successful conclusion to the negotiations,” said Sunak.
More broadly, he reiterated the UK government’s stance since the Diwali deadline for the FTA was missed, that he would not “sacrifice quality for speed” because it is important to take the time to get trade deals right. During their first meeting in Bali, the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the state of the wide-ranging India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and progress on the Roadmap 2030 for Future Relations, according to a press release issued by the ministry of external affairs on Wednesday.
At a House of Commons session on Thursday on the G20 Summit in Bali, Sunak said that he reviewed progress on the FTA during his first meeting with PM Narendra Modi since taking charge at 10 Downing Street. He was questioned by opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer and his own Conservative party MPs on the timeline for the completion of the agreement with India. “I discussed the free trade agreement with India, and both the Prime Minister of India and I committed our teams to working as quickly as possible to see if we can bring a successful conclusion to the negotiations,” said Sunak.
More broadly, he reiterated the UK government’s stance since the Diwali deadline for the FTA was missed, that he would not “sacrifice quality for speed” because it is important to take the time to get trade deals right. During their first meeting in Bali, the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the state of the wide-ranging India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and progress on the Roadmap 2030 for Future Relations, according to a press release issued by the ministry of external affairs on Wednesday.
