New Delhi [India], July 28 : Acting UK High Commissioner to India Christina Scott said on Monday that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the United Kingdom sends a strong message to the world about the shared economic ambitions of the two democracies and paves the way for deeper cooperation in sectors ranging from high-tech to environmental services.
Scott highlighted the broader strategic significance of the FTA, calling it a sign of deepening trust and interdependence between the two nations.
"So I think the thing about achieving a Free Trade Agreement, which has been more than three years in negotiation. There's been a long-standing commitment by both governments and by our previous government in the UK as well, is that it speaks to the deepening of ties across the overall relationship. And so I think the FTA sends a signal across the board, more widely, to the rest of our governments and to our systems, to businesses, to our people, that these two countries mean business, that they are partners, and that we look to work together. And of course, the areas you mentioned, technology and security, are really important, very much part of vision 2035," she said while speaking to ANI.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the UK, Scott said the two nations, as the world's fifth and sixth-largest economies, are ideally positioned to benefit from the FTA.
"We're both big, proud democracies, and our commitment to working together to the benefit of both nations, I hope, acts as a model for others around the world," she said.
PM Modi held wide-ranging discussions with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, senior ministers, and also met with His Majesty King Charles III.
"We were absolutely delighted that Prime Minister Modi took the decision to come to the UK and make time in his very busy schedule. And he had a good day of discussions, both with the Prime Minister and some of our most senior ministers, and also with His Majesty the King. And it was a real, for me, a real warm meeting, the evidence of engagement on both sides, the commitment to bring the UK and India to the next level of partnership and to work together, whether that's on trade, whether that's on environment, on defense and security, they really covered absolutely everything in their discussions, and both, I think, emerged sounding very positive indeed, with hope for what we can do together," she said.
Scott said that the FTA would bring tangible benefits to British businesses, particularly in sectors like whisky exports, construction, and environmental services.
"The Free Trade Agreement, or the comprehensive economic and trade agreement, as the Prime Ministers are calling it, is going to bring real benefits to businesses on both sides of the relationship. There'll be a number of sectors in the British economy that will get additional support. So as a result of reduced tariff rates, for example, our whiskey manufacturers are very excited by the opportunities that the opportunity to export more to India brings. But there will also be benefits for some of our services sectors, like construction and like environmental services, which are really important," she noted.
Highlighting how British businesses are preparing to engage with India post-deal, Scott said, "So right across the board, in both directions, there are exporters, there are services that will benefit from the opportunities that the FTA brings. In terms of how they're going to get themselves ready, well, there'll be a transition period now in the UK, we will be making sure that businesses understand what the FTA means. The FTA itself is, like 2000 pages long. So it's going to take a while to get businesses to understand all the detail and to help them get ready for the opportunities that it presents."
On the long-term India-UK Vision 2035 roadmap, Scott said it charts a strategic 10-year-plan for bilateral cooperation.
"So that is a 10-year strategy that the Prime Minister set out. It's Vision 2035, it's publicly available, and I'd encourage people to take a look. And it talks about the work we will do together as two countries over the next decade, and it talks about what we will do together to promote growth and to improve the economies of both countries, how we will work together to deepen our cooperation on security and defense, how we will tackle global problems like climate change and the need to go for green energy," she said.
She also stressed the importance of joint efforts in emerging technologies. "It talks about what we will do together on security and tech, with a real focus on high-tech, innovative technologies that potentially will disrupt and challenge how we do business. And finally, it talks about what we will do together on education. Of course, young people being very, very important to both of our Prime Ministers," she added.
The India-UK FTA is expected to significantly boost bilateral trade and investment, while laying a strong foundation for expanded strategic cooperation in areas like critical minerals, semiconductors, nuclear energy, and green technologies.