India committed to trade deal with UK: MEA

New Delhi, October 14

India has said there is interest on both sides to work towards a free trade agreement at an early date.

Pointing out that trade negotiations are best left to line Ministries, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said mobility and consular matter, the issue of discord with UK Home Secretary Sarah Braverman that briefly threatened to derail the FTA, was  “a separate issue’’.

The likely outcome would be that the FTA may not be signed by Diwali but both sides will announce that most of the talks have been concluded.

The mobility issue would require mutual implementation by both authorities, said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. “We have not been informed that negotiations have come to a halt. We have not seen any statement where UK has blamed India. Negotiators are at it. There is interest on both sides to reach some kind of FTA deal,’’ added Bagchi at a media briefing on Friday.

Britain too on Thursday affirmed its interest in a trade deal with India but said it would not sacrifice quality for speed.

“We do want to secure this ambitious trade deal, we do want to seek to conclude talks by Diwali … but we are clear that the UK won’t sacrifice quality for speed and we will only sign when we have a deal that meets both countries’ interests,’’ said UK PM Liz Truss’ spokesperson.

On Wednesday, too, Truss’s spokesman had said Britain wants to agree on a FTA refuting reports that the spat last week between UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman and the Ministry of External Affairs had derailed the timeline.

“Yes, we are working on this high ambition free trade deal that would put the UK at the front of the queue to supply India’s growing middle class,’’ said her spokesman when asked if the government still wanted a trade deal by Diwali as mentioned by then UK PM Boris Johnson after he met PM Narendra Modi in April.