India and UK on January 13, 2022, launched the formal negotiations for the free trade agreement. The Union Minister of Commerce and Trade Piyush Goyal, while speaking during the event, stated that the India-UK free trade agreement will expand the cooperation in technology, tourism, education, startups, climate change, etc.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a statement said that FTA is expected to facilitate the target of doubling bilateral trade between India and the United Kingdom by 2030, set by PM Modi and Boris Johnson in May 2021.
Piyush Goyal said, “Both India and UK are vibrant democracies, with a partnership built on our shared history and rich culture. The diverse Indian diaspora in the UK, who act as a “Living Bridge” and dynamism to the relations between the two countries.”
Observing that UK was a major trade partner of India with substantial bilateral volume of trade in goods and services, Goyal said, “The cooperation extended across areas like tourism, tech, startups, education, climate change, etc. and that the two nations were looking forward to a mutually beneficial trade deal with balanced concessions and market access package in a wide range of sectors.”