Hopes for India-UK FTA talks impetus with new PM Rishi Sunak

London: As Rishi Sunak takes over as Britain’s first Indian-origin Prime Minister on Tuesday, there is renewed hope that the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) will get a much-needed impetus after the Diwali deadline for draft completion was missed amid political turmoil in the UK.
While the October timeline was set by former prime minister Boris Johnson during his India visit in April, Sunak is on the record expressing his commitment to an FTA with India while Chancellor of the Exchequer at No. 11 Downing Street. He has flagged financial services as a particularly exciting aspect of the bilateral trade relationship and pointed to enormous opportunity for both countries in fintech and the insurance sector.
I’m very supportive of India playing an increasingly influential role in the region, and indeed, in the world as a massive economy and the world’s largest democracy and an FTA would prove a greater champion of that cause, Sunak told reporters back in July.
Also Read Rishi Sunak’s rise to PM is Obama moment for British Hindus’, says UK Hindu temple leader Financial service is an area where there’s enormous opportunity for both of our countries. India’s goal is to spread insurance across the entire economy, because insurance is a great thing for enabling protection for individuals and growth. We can help with that in the UK, because we have a fantastic insurance industry, he said.
The City of London Corporation, the financial hub of the UK capital, expressed the hope that Sunak’s focus on services would take the FTA in the right direction.
An India trade deal could be one of the most ambitious and commercially meaningful deals to the UK, said Chris Hayward, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation.