NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India and the UK have decided to resume talks on a proposed trade agreement, Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday, adding that the countries will look to speed up negotiations.
Goyal was speaking at a joint press conference with UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who is in India to restart negotiations which were halted last year ahead of general elections in both India and the UK.
The resumption of bilateral trade talks is seen as especially important amid rising global uncertainties, including the threat of reciprocal import tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Both countries plan to accelerate the negotiations which would include a bilateral free trade agreement and an investment treaty, Goyal said.
The India-UK trade discussions are the first between the two governments since the Labour Party came to power in the UK in July last year. Reynolds said securing a deal is a “top priority” for his government.
UK Investment Minister Poppy Gustafsson is also expected to meet investors in the financial capital Mumbai and IT hub Bengaluru to urge Indian businesses to invest.
Bilateral trade in goods and services between India and the UK, currently the world’s fifth and sixth-largest economies respectively, touched £41 billion ($52 billion) in the 12 months through to September 2024, according to UK government estimates.
(Reporting by Shivangi Acharya and Manoj Kumar, writing by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by YP Rajesh and Rachna Uppal)
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