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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the British government remained committed to working towards a successful conclusion of the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with India “as soon as possible” as most of the substantive negotiation talks were concluded last month.
The British Indian leader briefed parliament at the lower house meeting of the G20 summit in Indonesia on Thursday, in his first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi since taking office at 10 Downing Street Reviewed progress on free trade agreements.
Opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer and his Conservative MPs have questioned him about the timetable for completing the deal with India.
“I discussed the free trade agreement with India and both the Indian prime minister and I have committed our teams to work as soon as possible to see if we can successfully conclude the negotiations,” Sunak said.
“Without having to openly negotiate all of these things, I am very pleased that most of the substantive negotiation conversations ended at the end of October. We will now work with the Indian team to work through the issues and come to a mutually satisfactory conclusion,” he said.
More broadly, he reiterated the UK government’s position since missing the FTA’s Diwali deadline that he would not “sacrifice quality for speed” because it was important to take time to get the trade deal right.
Sunak was asked about his other discussions with Modi and whether he raised issues such as India’s position on Russia —Ukraine Conflict and the UK being an exception in Europe, which does not offer e-visa facilities – he confirmed has been discussed and will remain on the government’s agenda.
Regarding India’s “non-aligned” stance on the Ukraine conflict, he claimed he took “great comfort” from the fact that the G20 communiqué “contained a strong condemnation of Russian aggression”.
“Our relationship and partnership with India is not just a trade relationship. I am happy to discuss strengthening our security cooperation with India,” Sunak said.
“We have also announced a mobility scheme to enable young people from India to come here and young people from the UK to go there, showing that anything is possible. This exchange is a positive for our country and the young people who benefit ,” he said, referring to the new UK-India Young Professionals scheme launched at the summit earlier this week, which offers 3,000 new reciprocal visas a year for those under 30 – known as “Good for both Indian students and British students who want to go back and forth”.
On the new plan, Labor MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, of Indian origin, came against the backdrop of Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s “dog whistle” anti-immigration rhetoric that “inflamed the Indian people with his inflammatory remarks against international students”. Question the move.
The Labor leader also blasted Braverman for questioning a free trade agreement with India after saying she would not support it, and referred to her controversial remarks that Indians were the largest group of visa overstayers.
“The Home Secretary is rightly focused on tackling illegal immigration, which is what the British people rightly expect and demand – there is no ‘dog whistle’, which is what she and this government will achieve,” Sunak said in a statement for his cabinet. The minister defended.
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