Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Next round of UK-India trade talks in April amid Ukraine tensions

Next round of UK-India trade talks in April amid Ukraine tensions

THE THIRD round of the ongoing India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations will be hosted by India next month, Britain's Department for International Trade (DIT) said on Thursday (24).

A joint “outcome statement” released by the DIT confirmed that a draft treaty text of chapters that will make up the new trade pact was discussed during round two of the negotiations, which concluded in London last Friday (19).

A delegation of Indian officials was in London for the technical talks, conducted in a “hybrid fashion”, with some negotiators at a dedicated UK negotiations facility and others attending virtually.

For this round of negotiations, draft treaty text was shared and discussed across most chapters that will make up the agreement,” the statement said.


Also Read | Growing Rift over Ukraine: UK cancels high-powered delegation to India  


Technical experts from both sides came together for discussions in 64 separate sessions covering 26 policy areas. The third round of negotiations is due to be hosted by India in April 2022,” it added.

The FTA negotiations, launched in January with an end of the year timeline towards a possible interim agreement, have recently been overshadowed by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and India's abstentions during United Nations votes condemning Russian president Vladimir Putin's actions in the region.

It also emerged on Thursday (24) that a cross-party parliamentary delegation planned from the UK to India against the backdrop of the ongoing FTA negotiations was called off at the last minute due to wider political considerations as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The planned visit was to be led by the House of Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, over the parliamentary recess period in the UK for Easter next month.

The Speaker had been looking forward to travelling with a strong, cross-party delegation of MPs from the House of Commons. Regrettably, it has not been possible for that visit to go ahead as planned,” said a spokesperson for the Speaker's Office, without going into the reasons behind the cancellation.

The Indian High Commission in London declined to comment on the visit, which was scheduled for New Delhi and areas in Rajasthan.

India's long-standing strategic alliance with Russia, one of its key defence partners, has come into sharp focus in recent weeks as the West mounts stringent economic sanctions on Putin's regime over the conflict in Ukraine.

The cancellation of the UK parliamentary visit to India appears to indicate the beginning of a trust deficit between two comprehensive strategic partners India and the UK over the Ukraine war,” said Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, senior fellow for south Asia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London.

However, both countries need to better understand each other's position. India underestimates the existential threat to the European security order that Russia's aggression against Ukraine represents to the UK as well as the ideological divide between democracies and autocracies. The UK underestimates India's dependence on Russian arms and spares, even though Russian supplies to India will be disrupted,” he said.

According to the strategic expert, unless India is “quickly” offered alternative defence supply chains, its dependence on Russia will continue. Therefore, compromises will be needed on both sides to meet the aims of Roadmap 2030 for enhanced ties, agreed between British prime minister Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi last year.

This could include the UK looking for, along with the G7 countries, practical and credible alternatives to India's arms dilemma,” Roy-Chaudhury added.

Such a way forward was recently highlighted by UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

I think the issue for India is there is some level of dependence on Russia, both in terms of its defence relationships but also in terms of its economic relationships. And I think the way forward is for a closer economic and defence relationship with India, Truss told a UK parliamentary committee earlier this month.

(PTI)

More For You

UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rosneft in early talks to sell India refinery stake to Reliance

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani (Photo: Getty Images)

Rosneft in early talks to sell India refinery stake to Reliance

RUSSIAN oil major PJSC Rosneft Oil Company is in early discussions with Reliance Industries to sell its 49.13 per cent stake in Nayara Energy, an Indian energy company that operates a 20-million-tonnes-per-year oil refinery and 6,750 petrol pumps, sources familiar with the matter said.

The deal, if finalised, would see Reliance overtake state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to become India’s largest oil refiner. It would also provide Reliance with a significant expansion in fuel retailing, where it currently holds a relatively small presence.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Trump shakes hands with Modi during a joint press conference at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Key issues in India, US trade talks

TRADE talks between India and the US have hit a roadblock over disagreements on duties for auto components, steel and farm goods, Indian government sources said to Reuters, dashing hopes of reaching an interim deal ahead of president Donald Trump's July 9 deadline to impose reciprocal tariffs.

Here are the key issues at play:

Keep ReadingShow less
Anil Agarwal

Vedanta Resources, which is based in the UK and owned by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, has been working on reducing its debt. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Resources signs £438 million refinancing deal

VEDANTA LTD said on Thursday that its parent company, Vedanta Resources, has signed a loan facility agreement worth up to £438 million with international banks to refinance existing debt.

The refinancing move, where old loans are replaced by new ones, often at better terms like lower interest rates, has led ratings agencies such as S&P Global Ratings and Moody's to upgrade their outlook on the company this year.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump-Getty

Trump said that while deals are being made with some countries, others may face tariffs.

Getty Images

Trump says major trade deal with India may be finalised soon

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Friday said a "very big" trade deal could be finalised with India, suggesting significant movement in the ongoing negotiations between the two countries.

“We are having some great deals. We have one coming up, maybe with India. Very big one. Where we're going to open up India," Trump said at the “Big Beautiful Bill” event at the White House.

Keep ReadingShow less