Modi, Johnson want India-UK FTA Concluded by Diwali

Will not be dogmatic on work visas especially for IT, computer-related sectors, where Indian skills make a difference, says Johnson

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson have said that the two countries will work towards concluding the negotiations for the proposed India-UK FTA by the year-end, preferably by Diwali in October, and strengthen partnership in defence manufacturing and procurement, climate and energy and promotion of start-ups.

“And as the next round of talks begin here next week, we are telling our negotiators: get it done by Diwali in October. This could double our trade and investment by the end of the decade (to $100 billion),” Johnson said in his statement at the joint press conference with Modi after their bilateral meeting on Friday, 22 April, 2022 in New Delhi.

Pointing out that India had recently concluded speedy FTAs with the UAE and Australia, Modi said it was possible with the UK as well. “At the same pace, with the same commitment, we would like to move forward on the FTA with the UK as well,” he said.

On work visas, an area of strong interest for India, Johnson indicated that the UK could be flexible, especially in IT and computer-related services, where “Indian skills make a difference”. Skilling of the workforce in his country was a prime area of focus for his government, but he will not be dogmatic about it and will not refuse people with skill and talent from coming to the country, the British PM said addressing a ground of Indian and British journalists.

Johnson admitted that the FTA talks were going to be tough as there were many “asks’’ or demands from both sides. Reduction of tariffs on whisky, a key demand of UK, was one of the tough areas, the British PM said, adding that it would be great if that could be fixed.

He said that both sides were willing to seriously engage in give and take, on market access for items such as apples and machineries for UK, and rice and textiles for India, and he was optimistic that the deal could be done.

On Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and India’s refusal to vote against Russia at UN bodies, Johnson took a soft line and said that India had a historic relationship with Russian and everybody respected it. He also praised India for coming out strongly against the atrocities in Bucha.

In a leg-up to India-UK defence partnership, the UK is creating an India-specific open general export license reducing bureaucracy and reducing delivery times for defence procurement, Johnson said.

“We welcome the UK’s support for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ in all sectors of manufacturing, technology, design and development in the defence sector,” Modi said in his statement.

The Indian PM also welcomed the increasing investment in India by UK companies. “And, a good example of this we got to see yesterday at Halol in Gujarat,” he said. Johnson visited Gujarat on Thursday where he inaugurated JCB’s new export-focused factory in Halol, set up at an investment of £100 million.

Johnson said he was happy with the outcome of the visit as it resulted in deals worth £1 billion, that created more than 11,000 new jobs across the UK.