Decades after its independence, the former British colony presses the links with the United Kingdom. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said during a meeting on Saturday in New Delhi with his British counterpart David Lammy that the commercial agreement between the two countries was “a historical stage” to strengthen their relations.
Last month, New Delhi and London concluded a free trade agreement presented by Great Britain as the most ambitious from Brexit, after the negotiations relaunched at the end of February.
Since he left the European Union, London has tried to strengthen its commercial relations through the planet and conclude that commercial associations have become more crucial due to uncertainties that customs duties in Donald Trump are weighing the global economy.
“The recent conclusion of the India-Royle-Uni Free Trade Agreement is really a historical step that will not only stimulate our bilateral exchanges and investments, but also will have a positive effect in other strategic aspects of our bilateral relations,” said Subrahmanyam Jaishankar after his meeting with David Lammy, who is visiting a two-day visit to India.
Reduce customs tasks, relaunching trade
This agreement includes a reduction in customs tariffs in imports of British products in India, including whiskey, cosmetic products and medical devices.
In return, customs tariffs on imports of clothing, shoes and food products of Great Britain, including frozen shrimp, of India, will be reduced.
The United Kingdom and India are the sixth and fifth economies respectively.
The trade between the two countries represents 41 billion pounds (48.6 billion euros) per year, according to the British government and the investments that support more than 600,000 jobs in both countries.
This agreement should increase commercial relations between the two countries of 25.5 billion sterling, while stimulating British economy and wages.
The negotiations were relaunched between the two countries in February after blocking under the previous British conservative governments.
Before his visit to New Delhi, he indicated that the agreement with India “just started” and fed greater ambitions.
Source: BFM TV
