- Saturday, February 22, 2025
The trade department said the first round of negotiations under the new government were expected to take place in the autumn
By: Shajil Kumar
THE NEW Labour government in Britain said on Monday it was restarting talks aimed at securing free trade agreements (FTAs) with India and countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Prime minister Keir Starmer, whose Labour Party returned to government after 14 years in opposition following a landslide victory at a July 4 election, has made economic growth the central mission of his government.
Trade talks were paused during the election.
“Restarting talks is the first step towards agreeing the high-quality trade deals the UK needs to give businesses access to international markets, boost jobs and deliver that growth,” the government said in a statement.
The trade department said the first round of negotiations under the new government were expected to take place in the autumn and would include fresh talks with Israel, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey.
Britain already has FTAs with those four countries which were rolled over when it left the European Union in 2020, but had previously launched talks aimed at updating the agreements.
Foreign secretary David Lammy travelled to India last week and met prime minister Narendra Modi, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and other high-ranking officials.
The two countries have firmed up a landmark technology security initiative that sets out a bold new approach for collaboration in a range of “priority” sectors including telecom, critical minerals, semiconductors and artificial intelligence. (Agencies)
