Political Will Towards UK-India Free Trade Agreement Positive: UKIBC's Richard Heald
In an exclusive interview to ABP Live, Richard Heald, Group Chair, UK-India Business Council, said the proposed UK-India FTA will help India diversify its sources for defence equipment.
Notwithstanding the recent diplomatic row of sorts between the UK and India over attacks at the Indian High Commission in London, Britain’s leading trade body, the UK-India Business Council (UKIBC), believes that the “political will” towards the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between both countries is “positive”, at a time the need for such a pact has increased due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
In an exclusive interview to ABP Live, Richard Heald, Group Chair, UK-India Business Council, said the proposed UK-India FTA will help India diversify its sources for defence equipment, thereby boosting the Narendra Modi government’s ‘Make In India’ drive in defence and aerospace sector.
"There is currently no timeline put on the negotiations, but the signs are very positive. Both negotiating sides are committed to arriving at a deal that supports businesses and prosperity in both countries,” Heald told ABP Live during his recent visit to India.
He said: “The political will is positive to the process. The signs are very positive, demonstrating commitment to arriving at a deal that supports businesses and prosperity in both countries.”
Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and and his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak held a telephonic conversation during which they discussed the need for an "early conclusion" of the FTA, which is a key aspect of Britain’s India-UK Roadmap 2030.
The talks for having the FTA between both countries has gained significant momentum in the last couple of years. There have been eight rounds of formal negotiations that have taken place so far.
“As you may appreciate, we do not sit at the negotiating table. However, our overall understanding is that there continues to be good progress with the majority of chapters now closed. Of course, as with any trade negotiation, there are areas that are easy to agree on, and other more complex areas that relatively speaking, may require greater time to unpack. Overall, the sentiment and ambition remains positive from both sides towards a successful agreement,” Heald said.
Referring to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war that is going on for over a year now and resulting in spiralling inflation and disruption of supply chain networks, he said while the impact on the FTA as such will be “limited”, it nevertheless reaffirms that need for the UK and India to come closer.
“The invasion of Ukraine is having a profound, negative impact around the world, affecting global supply chains and heightening security concerns. I think it has a limited impact on the FTA per se; however, the developments only serve to reaffirm the opportunity and imperative for the UK and India to become closer. Our countries are both strong democracies for a start,” he said.
Deeper Defence And Aerospace Cooperation
Reiterating the UK’s plan to contribute in New Delhi’s ‘Make In India’ drive in the defence sector, the UKIBC chief said the FTA will help in supporting that initiative as well even as London is eyeing to share its jet-engine technology and maritime electric propulsion with India.
“We see an opportunity here for the UK-India partnership to help diversify partners/sources for defence equipment as well as build supply chain integrity across key materials for manufacturing. The UK is among the world leaders in defence technology,” Heald highlighted.
He added: “We are working to support bilateral collaboration in the sector, with co-creation of technologies, made in India to support both defence and security. Also, relevant for energy security is the opportunity to expand collaboration on renewable sources of energy and eventually, reduce dependence on conventional fuel.”
He also said that UK businesses are keen on seeing a separate chapter on investments under the FTA that will make it easier for investors on both sides to put money in each other’s countries.
“Providing adequate confidence to enter and expand across the bilateral corridor would also have positive impacts in terms of job creation, economic growth, and wider development. In fact, UKIBC believes that to truly be successful, businesses should be established in countries with operations on the ground, and we have seen great interest from businesses in both countries to expand further, hence the business priority for both trade and investment support,” he underlined.
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