India and the UK Resume FTA Negotiations, Targeting to Triple Bilateral Trade in 10 Years.
International
In February 2025, Union Minister Piyush Goyal of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MoC&I) and Jonathan Reynolds, Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade, United Kingdom (UK), announced the resumption of negotiations for the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries in New Delhi, Delhi.
- The FTA is expected to double or even triple bilateral trade, currently valued at USD 20 billion, within the next 10 years.
- In addition to the FTA, both countries are negotiating a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and a social security agreement known as the 'Double Contribution Convention Agreement'.
- A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is an agreement between two or more countries where they agree on certain obligations that affect trade in goods and services, as well as protections for investors and intellectual property rights, among other topics.
Main Point :- (i) The negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the UK began on January 13, 2022, under the leadership of then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. So far, 14 rounds of negotiations have been held, with the 14th round starting in January 2023 and paused in May 2024 due to the UK general elections.
(ii) In November 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met on the sidelines of the Group-20 (G-20) Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. During their meeting, both leaders agreed to resume negotiations for the FTA.
(iii) Trade between India and the UK has grown significantly, with bilateral trade rising to USD 21.34 billion in FY24. The UK is the 6th largest investor in India, contributing USD 35.3 billion, and India is the 2nd largest source of FDI into the UK, with a 28% Year-on-Year increase in investment.
About the United Kingdom (UK)
PM : Keir Starmer
Capital : London
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