United Kingdom officials are likely to visit India next month with the objective of concluding talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries. Aiming at finalising talks within a span of four months, the trade deal aims to double bilateral trade between the countries by 2030.
Previously, the deadline was to conclude the talks by October but both sides missed the timeline. The administration will soon take a call on whether these deliberations will be at a ministerial level or the secretary level.
A government source told Reuters that the accord would require "3 to 4 months of constant negotiations, with broad agreements over topics such as mobility and short-term work visas to the UK."
According to a source, the FTA between India and the UK would be completed by the end of March 2019. A new deadline for wrapping up negotiations has not yet been set, though.
Notably, approximately 14 of the trade agreement's 26 parts have been agreed upon, and the visiting UK group will work on the remaining chapters. In October, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call congratulating him on his position as UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak expressed his hope to complete the trade agreement.
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