LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will meet in New Delhi on Monday to restart talks on a UK-India trade deal, the British government said on Sunday.
“Securing a trade deal with what is soon-to-be the third biggest economy in the world is a no-brainer, and a top priority for me and this government,” Reynolds said in a statement.
“That is why I’m flying to New Delhi with our top negotiating team to show our commitment to getting these talks back on track.”
Britain’s previous Conservative governments, in power from 2010 to 2024, held years-long trade talks with New Delhi, but they ended in March 2024, with Britain saying an agreement could not be finalised before Indian elections, held last year.
Previous sticking points in the talks included a steep import duty on British whisky sold in India and India’s demand for more visas for Indian students and businesses.
Trade ministers will restart talks on an economic deal with two days of focused discussions – the first time both teams have formally got around the table since Britain’s Labour Party took power last year, the government said.
India and Britain, currently the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies respectively, have a trade relationship worth 41 billion pounds ($51.8 billion), it said.
($1 = 0.7918 pounds)
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Susan Fenton)
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