FTA talks next month?
BRITISH officials are likely to visit India in December with the aim of concluding talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries in about four months, two Indian government sources said, after the nations missed their initial timeline.
A trade agreement between India and Britain that aims to double bilateral trade by 2030 could not be done by late October, the initial target for concluding the talks. India’s trade ministry and Britain will soon finalise if next month’s talks will be at a ministerial level or the secretary level, one of the officials, who did not want to be named, told Reuters.
“It will take three to four months of steady negotiations to complete this agreement, with broad understanding over issues such as mobility and short-term work visas to the UK,” the official said.
The second official said they were aiming to finalise it by March end. The first official said nearly 14 chapters out of the 26 chapters of the trade deal have been finalised, and the delegation will aim to agree on the finer aspects of the rest of the chapters.