Committed to working quickly on FTA: Rishi Sunak

London, November 18

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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the UK government remains committed to working “as quickly as possible” towards a successful conclusion to the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India, as the majority of the substantive negotiation conversations were completed at the end of last month.

Held talks with Pm modi

I discussed the free trade agreement with India. Both PM Modi and I committed our teams to working as quickly as possible to see if we can bring a successful conclusion to the negotiations. Rishi Sunak, UK Prime minister

At a House of Commons session on Thursday on the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, the British Indian leader updated Parliament that he reviewed progress on the FTA during his first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi since taking charge at 10 Downing Street.

He was questioned by Opposition Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer and his own Conservative Party MPs on the timeline for the completion of the agreement with India.

“I discussed the free trade agreement with India, and both Prime Minister of India and I committed our teams to working as quickly as possible to see if we can bring a successful conclusion to the negotiations,” said Sunak.

“Without negotiating all these things in public, I am pleased that the majority of the substantive negotiation conversations were concluded by the end of October. We will now work at pace with the Indian teams to try to resolve the issues and come to a mutually satisfactory conclusion,” he said.

More broadly, he reiterated the UK government’s stance since the Diwali deadline for the FTA was missed, that he would not “sacrifice quality for speed” because it was important to take the time to get trade deals right.

During their first meeting in Bali, the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the state of the wide-ranging India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and progress on the Roadmap 2030 for Future Relations, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday.

The two leaders appreciated the importance of working together in bilateral and multilateral forums, including G20 and the Commonwealth. Their discussions touched upon important sectors of collaboration such as trade, mobility, defence and security, the release said.

Sunak was also questioned about his other discussions with Modi and whether he raised issues such as India’s stance over the Russia-Ukraine conflict and also the UK being an exception within Europe to not be offered the e-visa facility — something he confirmed was discussed and would remain on the government’s agenda.