Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday that loosening visa regulations for firms and qualified professionals will enhance bilateral commerce and investment between India and the United Kingdom.
The remarks came amid the agreement to resume discussions on the planned India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which was announced by Piyush Goyal and his UK counterpart Jonathan Reynolds, who is on a three-day visit to India to strengthen bilateral economic ties.
As it seeks to conclude a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom, India is also advocating for lighter visa requirements for qualified individuals hired by its companies investing in Britain. This is in addition to India’s long-standing request for more visas for Indian experts, particularly IT specialists. Indian corporations are the second largest foreign investors in the UK, lending support to New Delhi’s desire for employment flexibility for its businesses.
Piyush Goyal stated that under the agreement, the two countries intend to open up services in a “big way” as well as their economies in order to attract more investment.
“We have also as a part of FTA proposed to open up each other’s services sector while protecting the sensitivities that each country has, so that, that can open up new opportunities and obviously for all of this, business visas will be required and they will be linked to investments, to the services that are going to be opened up,” Goyal told reporters.
“So I don’t see any difficulty in that. And if we both want to develop our commerce and investments, we must issue visas more quickly and liberally,” he said.
“Every possibility is on the table. We are currently negotiating three different aspects: the FTA, the Bilateral Investment Treaty, and the Double Contribution Convention Agreement. “And all three are running concurrently,” Piyush Goyal stated at an event.
Reynolds stated, “We have resumed negotiations for the UK-India Free Trade Agreement. “We hope that these discussions will result in a mutually beneficial agreement,” he said.
The agreement contains 26 chapters, which include products, services, investments, and intellectual property rights. While the UK seeks lower tariffs on items such as electric vehicles and Scotch whisky, India seeks simplified visa requirements for its service sector personnel to access the UK.
Piyush Goyal and Jonathan Reynolds, the UK Business and Trade Secretary, paid visits to the National Crafts Museum.
“Joined @JReynoldsMP, UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, at the National Crafts Museum to learn about India’s rich craft legacy. “From intricate textiles to live artisan demonstrations, it was a visual feast of our unparalleled legacy,” the minister wrote on X.
Read More