Modi, Sunak review FTA progress, agree to deepen cooperation during talks in Japan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak on Sunday reviewed the progress of the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations and agreed for their trade teams to continue at pace towards an ambitious deal, Downing Street said.

Modi and Sunak met on the sidelines of the summit of the G7 advanced economies in Hiroshima. In their second in-person meeting since the G20 Summit in Indonesia last November, the two leaders are said to have discussed the deep ties shared between the nations.

In relation to India’s G20 presidency, Downing Street also indicated that the British Indian leader’s first visit to India is expected to be for the G20 Summit in New Delhi later this year.

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“The leaders reflected on the deep ties between the UK and India, rooted in our human connections, and the vital importance of democracy and fair and open trade,” said a Downing Street spokesperson. “They discussed progress on a UK-India Free Trade Agreement. The leaders agreed that their teams would continue to work at pace to finalise an ambitious and mutually beneficial deal,” the spokesperson said.

“The leaders discussed the wider objectives of the G7 Summit and the Prime Minister [Sunak] committed his strong support for India’s G20 Presidency, which comes at a crucial time for global security and prosperity. He looked forward to working closely with Prime Minister Modi ahead of a successful Summit later this year,” the spokesperson added.

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Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) readout of the meeting echoed similar outcomes of the in-person meeting between the two leaders, as they reviewed the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, including taking stock of progress in the India-UK FTA negotiations.

During discussions on India’s G20 presidency, Prime Minister Modi said he looked forward to welcoming Sunak to New Delhi for the G20 Summit in September.

According to official UK government statistics, India was the UK’s 12th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022, accounting for 2.1 per cent of total UK trade. They also agreed to deepen cooperation across a wide range of areas, such as trade and investment, science and technology, higher education, and people-to-people relationship.

(With agency inputs)