Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to visit India at the end of this month with a view to resume the ongoing India-UK Free Trade Agreement negotiations.
The visit, which is expected end of April, comes after PM Boris Johnson was forced to cancel previously planned trips to India twice last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Downing Street is yet to confirm any details, an in-person meeting was discussed during a phone call between Boris Johnson and prime minister Narendra Modi last month.
“The leaders welcomed India and the UK’s strong and prosperous relationship, and agreed to continue to build on trade, security and business ties in the coming weeks and months. They looked forward to meeting in-person at the earliest opportunity,” a Downing Street spokesperson said in a summary of the call on 22 March.
The two prime ministers last met in-person on the at the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow in November last year, when their bilateral talks during the World Leaders’ Summit focused on the India-UK climate partnership, as well as a review of the 2030 Roadmap which they had signed during a virtual summit in May 2021.
The Roadmap, which aims to at least double bilateral trade between India and the UK by 2030, is part of Britain’s so-called Indo-Pacific foreign policy tilt following Brexit.
“A trade deal with India’s booming economy offers huge benefits for British businesses, workers and consumers,” Mr Johnson said at the formal launch of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks earlier this year.
He added, “The UK has world-class businesses and expertise we can rightly be proud of, from Scotch whisky distillers to financial services and cutting-edge renewable technology.
“We are seizing the opportunities offered in growing economies of the Indo-Pacific to cement our place on the global stage and deliver jobs and growth at home,” he said in January.
