Kemi Badenoch, the UK Trade Secretary, will arrive in New Delhi on Monday for the sixth round of the Free Trade Agreement FTA negotiations between the United Kingdom and India.
Badenoch will see her counterpart, Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, in person for the first time, with the goal of strengthening bilateral ties and reviving talks on an ambitious bilateral trade deal.
She will speak to both teams of top negotiators ahead of the sixth round of formal negotiations, which will take place this week.
The talks, the first formal round since July, will aim to reach a deal to reduce tariffs and expand opportunities for UK services such as financial and legal, making it easier for British businesses to sell to an economy that is expected to be the world's third-largest by 2050, with a middle class of 250 million people.
The Trade Secretary will also meet with business leaders during her tour to better understand their demands for a modern UK-India trade relationship. This will involve a meeting with envoPAP, a UK company investing over £10 million in India to construct a Fairtrade paper and packaging plant.
"I'm here in New Delhi to kickstart round six of UK-India trade negotiations and meet my counterpart Minister Goyal in person to drive progress on this agreement.
"Both nations have come to the table with the very highest of ambitions and a willingness to work together towards a mutually beneficial deal. I'm excited about the opportunities we can create for British businesses.
" India and the UK are the 5th and 6th biggest economies in the world. We have a long shared history, and are in pole position to do a deal that will create jobs, encourage growth and boost our 29 billion pound trading relationship," said Secretary of State for International Trade Kemi Badenoch.
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