Union Minister Goyal aims to complete India-UK FTA by Diwali

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jun 23, 2022

Union Minister Piyush Goyal aims to have the proposed free trade agreement between India and the UK completed before the festival of Diwali and is confident other nations will seek out FTAs with India. 

“Since India offers so much potential and opportunity, other nations are ready to become friends with us,” said Goyal at the opening of the 67th India International Garment Fair in Noida, India Infoline News Service reported. “With the EU, UK, and Canada, our free trade agreements are progressing. Australia, the GCC, Israel, Eurasia, and Brazil have all expressed interest in establishing free trade agreements with India. I'm hoping the India-UK Free Trade Agreement will be completed before Diwali.”

The Union Government is currently in talks with the EU and Canada to discuss similar FTAs. The Gulf Cooperation Council, which is formed of a group of Arab nations that border the Gulf, is open to pursuing closer trade ties with India, which could prove fruitful due in part to the fact that there are large numbers of Indian ex-pats in the area. 

Goyal also stated that the three main areas that Indian industry needs to focus on to boost trade are garments, fashion jewellery, and meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions, referred to as MICE. By boosting business and trade in these sectors, the entire export market will be uplifted, according to Goyal.