London: Prioritising trade links with India, the UK opposition Labour Party discussed trade deal negotiations between Britain and India with the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom Vikram Doraiswami.
The event was organised on July 4th by Stockport MP Navendu Mishra and was a first for the High Commissioner of India in addressing exclusively members of the Labour Party, as well as businesses with mutual interests in Britain and India at the Palace of Westminster, an official release said.
Doraiswami was welcomed by Members of the Official Opposition in Britain, the Labour Party, in both the House of Commons and House of Lords to discuss the progress of the trade deal
negotiations between Britain and India.
Progress has been made on half of the chapters in the India-UK FTA agreement, and efforts are underway to finalize the negotiations as swiftly as possible.
At the event, the High Commissioner discussed trade relations in light of the current Free Trade Agreement that is being negotiated, cultural links and the deepening of the two nations' relationship.
This comes, following an intervention from the Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer late last year, said in a statement to the House of Commons that a trade agreement "can bring new opportunities to promote and create new jobs here in Britain".
The UK India Business Council and Diageo sponsored the reception and heard from the Right Honourable Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade. India is now the second largest investor in the UK with over 900 Indian companies in the UK, with a combined turnover of Pound 54 billion, demonstrating the strong existing links, the release said.
Following the event, the Right Honourable Nick Thomas-Symonds MP said, "At the Labour Convention of Indian Organisations Reception, I set out that the UK-India relationship will be a central pillar of the next Labour Government's foreign policy. Labour is committed to a free trade deal with India and working closely on a range of issues from the world economy to tackling climate change and global security." According to the release, Navendu Mishra, Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom added, "It was a pleasure to host Vikram Doraiswami in the House of Commons for the first briefing of exclusively labour parliamentarians".
He further commented, "As the prospect of a Labour government gets ever-closer, it is vital that, as Labour politicians, we reaffirm our commitment to maintaining a positive relationship with India. There are many similarities between our nations and these should be celebrated." UK India Business Council (UKIBC) Managing Director, Kevin McCole, spoke of the positive momentum pushing the bilateral relationship forward and welcomed the commitment and ambition to enhance relations.
"With the deep-rooted foundations of our people-to-people connect and strong trade and investment ties already, there is so much that our countries can achieve together. We look forward to working with both Governments and businesses to unlock the huge potential that exists in the UK-India corridor," he said. —ANI
