London:
Only temporary commercial dynamics visas are under the ongoing Indo-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) dialogue and other categories including Visa, which will not be a part of the Pact, the UK government has informed the peers during the House of Lords debate.
Last week, during a ‘short debate’ session in the upper house of the British Parliament, cross-party peers sought clarity on FTA negotiations, which was resumed during a visit to New Delhi last month during the UK business and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
Lord Sunny Lyong responded to a series of issues of his ability as a government whip at Lord’s, while pointing to his own India connection – married to Indian original wife Geeta.
“Our (bilateral) relations also include millions in India who follow the giant market for the Premier League and Bollywood films in Britain, which I and my wife enjoy most of the weekends and whose music we ever dance to,” said Leong.
“Visa … our interaction only consider commercial dynamics, so they only cover the relevant business visa, which are for their nature, limited, temporary and specific purposes. It is also beneficial for UK exporters to serve abroad. Students are not part of visa business deals,” he said.
Responding to the call for the Labor Government to set a time limit to complete the FTA, the talks for which opened under the previous Orthodox Party tenure in January 2022, Lord Leong said: “The government has clarified that we are ready to negotiate a deal towards a deal in the best interests of the UK.
“Although I recognize and agree that we all would like to sign the deal fast, the government can only sign once when we have acquired the right deal for the UK, so we will prioritize the quality of the deal instead of which we can secure it.” The minister said bilateral trading relations with India were priced at GBP 41 billion last year, with a two-way investment flow of about 600,000 jobs in both economies.
He said, “But there is a lot that we can do … In any business agreement, one of the main ambitions is to reduce the tariff that faces UK exporters. This is especially important when Indian tariffs can be more than 100 percent on goods such as tariff whiskey,” he said.
He reiterated that by disclosing any FTA details further, it would be compromised by the UK interaction status by entering the nuances of “live talks”.
During the debate last Thursday, British Indian colleagues including Karan Bilimoria, Kuldeep Singh Sahota, Sandy Verma and Raj Loomba addressed the Parliament on the urgency of FTA with “third largest economy in the world”.
“Business is about development, jobs and opportunities. If we get this right, we can shape the economic future of the UK for the coming decades, but, if we consider it wrong – or worse, do nothing worse, do nothing – other people will fill the gaps. I urge the government to move forward fast, bold, and ensure that Britain is the fastest growing field in the world.”
Lord Bilimoria asked the UK to increase its Indo-Pacific connections to join the Quad Alliance, including India, America, Japan and Australia, as an extended “quad plus”.
“The benefits of an FTA are low for low business costs, more consumer choice, low prices and maintenance of standards … Three walls have gone since we have started these talks since we have started these talks, so please set us a time limit, let’s let us not be the enemy of good and let us conclude this free trade agreement. Let us fulfill this.”
Baronic Verma called for a “jump and a jump” from the government and appointed trade messengers in India to support the efforts of ministers and diplomats in the region.
“We have a lot of messengers in other countries; it is beyond my comprehension that we do not have a big messenger to India from Britain,” he said.
India and Britain concluded a round of FTA talks last month, dubbed the UK Department of Trade and Trade (DBT) as “focused discussion”.
Foreign Minister K Jaishankar said in his UK visit last week in terms of trade talks, “My discussion with the Prime Minister’s Stner, Foreign Secretary David Lammi and (Business) Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, I received a consolidated message that the British side is also interested in moving forward.”
He said, “I also had some points from my respective colleagues. Therefore, I am carefully optimistic and hope that this (FTA) does not take long,” he said.
(Tagstotransmit) India UK Agreement (T) India UK Trade Talks (T) India UK Free Trade Agreement FTA
