The UK has relaunched talks on a free trade deal with India, with Jonathan Reynolds in New Delhi to resume negotiations.
The business and trade secretary begins refreshed discussions with his Indian counterpart commerce minister Piyush Goyal in the south Asian capital today (Monday, February 24), marking a new phase of negotiations between the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies.
Since 2022, the UK has been through more than a dozen rounds of talks over a potential agreement with India, with key sticking points said to include visa rules for Indian students and professionals, as well as access for British service firms.
The UK government says it is prioritising economic growth in the UK and bringing the Indian economy – set to be the world’s third largest by 2028 – into reach for British business, with India already the UK’s second biggest foreign direct investor by volume for five years.
India and the UK’s trade relationship is worth £41bn, and is supporting 600,000 jobs across the two nations, officials said, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.
While investment minister Poppy Gustafsson is set to visit India’s financial capital Mumbai and the tech hub of Bengaluru in a bid to attract investment to the UK as the best connected place for Indian businesses to invest, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said.
Reynolds said: “Securing a trade deal with what is soon-to-be the third biggest economy in the world is a no-brainer, and a top priority for me and this government.
“That is why I’m flying to New Delhi with our top negotiating team to show our commitment to getting these talks back on track.”
He added: “Growth will be the guiding principle in our trade negotiations with India and I’m excited about the opportunities on offer in this vibrant market.”
Trade ministers from the UK and India will kickstart talks with two days of discussions from Monday, marking the first time negotiating teams have sat around the table since Labour entered government, and opening with a joint visit to Delhi’s National Crafts Museum.
Reynolds and Goyal will also visit BT India’s office in Gurugram, one of the UK’s largest employers in India. The UK is focused on high growth sectors identified by the industrial strategy, such as manufacturing, clean energy, and financial and professional services.
India is set to have the highest growth rate in the G20 for the next five years, officials said, with its middle class expected to hit 95m strong by 2035, with a growing market for exports.
Richard Heald, chairman of the UK India Business Council said “ the visit reaffirms [the UK’s] commitment for a new ambitious, future-focused trade and investment relationship with India”.
He added: “Success in the FTA will support further economic growth for the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies. It will catalyse collaboration beyond into other areas too.
“Importantly, it will signal the UK and India are strategic partners. This is truly an exciting chapter of the UK-India partnership.”
But it comes as Reynolds has been accused of describing himself as a solicitor during his political career, despite only ever being a trainee, with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) saying it will investigate claims made after “further information” came to light.
Labour sources had insisted Reynolds had referred to himself as a trainee solicitor on a number of occasions and “corrected [an] administrative error immediately” on his LinkedIn.
A Labour spokesperson told Sky News: “Jonathan looks forward to engaging fully with the SRA and drawing a line under the matter.”