G7: PM Modi meets British counterpart Sunak, takes stock of India-UK FTA negotiations

“The meeting with PM @RishiSunak was a very fruitful one. We discussed boosting cooperation in trade, innovation, science and other such sectors.” Prime Minister Modi tweeted.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the two leaders discussed their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and evaluated the status of the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) discussions.

They also agreed to deepen cooperation in higher education and people-to-people relationship, the ministry added.

PM Modi was eager to welcome Sunak to New Delhi for the G20 Summit, the statement said.

Since January of last year, India and the UK have been negotiating an FTA in an effort to reach a comprehensive agreement that is anticipated to greatly improve their current trade relationship worth approximately 34 billion pounds in 2022.

In the four quarters leading up to the end of Q3 2022, India ranked as the 12th largest trading partner of the UK, making up 2.1% of all UK trade, according to official statistics provided by the UK government.

Harjinder Kang, who served as Britain’s chief negotiator for the FTA, was recently named the new trade commissioner for South Asia and deputy high commissioner for western India, both positions situated in Mumbai.

The ninth round of FTA negotiations between the two countries was completed last month after thorough discussions on a number of policy areas.

PM Modi arrived in Hiroshima on Friday following an invitation by Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida to attend three sessions at the G7 summit.

— with PTI inputs