India & UK To Hold Talks Over Trade Agreement. Security, Defence Cooperation High On Agenda

Security and defence cooperation is high on the agenda, including maritime security, cyber security, health partnership, digital health, medical supply chains, and science and technology

New Delhi: India and the UK are eying an interim trade agreement amid negotiations towards a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday. British foreign secretary Liz Truss will be visiting India from Friday, informed Shringla while talking at the India Global Forum (IGF) in London virtually from New Delhi.

This will offer a push to the partnership as the visit coincides with the UK’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) arriving in Mumbai for joint exercises.

"We are negotiating a Free Trade Agreement as things stand. We are also looking at an interim trade agreement,” said Shringla. "The visit of Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is planned to coincide with the UK Carrier Strike Group docking in Mumbai,” he added.

The foreign secretary noted his counterpart, Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary in the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is expected in India to take forward the trade talks.

Meanwhile, Barton expressed excitement for the visit, "We should be very optimistic. Things have really accelerated, and we should be very excited”.

"The real opportunity is with the UK’s place in the world. We have left the European Union and are in charge of our international trade and commercial policy and changed the way we approach migration to this country,” he said. Shringla mentioned financial markets, people-to-people ties through the new Migration and Mobility Partnership will remain high on agenda besides the first-ever consular dialogue.

"Security and defence cooperation is high on the agenda, including maritime security, cyber security, health partnership, digital health, medical supply chains, alternative health and science and technology,” he noted.

"We did have a devastating [COVID-19] wave but since then we have done everything we can to insulate against the impact of the COVID pandemic… Today is a landmark for India’s vaccination programme, we have crossed a billion doses and that is the greatest insulation we have against the pandemic,” he said.

With reference to the UK-hosted United Nations COP26 climate summit in Glasgow next month, the Foreign Secretary said India will be participating with a strong message and also expect promises of predictable finance to meet ambitious climate targets.

He said, "We are perhaps the only G20 country to have fulfilled our NDCs [Nationally Determined Contributions] and outperformed them. Our Prime Minister has said that India will not only meet its targets but exceed them. And, he has spoken to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. We intend to go in with a strong message, with full commitment to COP26."

(With inputs from PTI)