India, UK negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) is likely to miss late October deadline, Indian government officials said on Thursday, October 13.
In April 2022, former UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson in a meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi has set an ambitious deadline of late October to conclude and sign an FTA.
But Indian government officials here said that under the incumbent UK government led by Prime Minister, Liz Truss, ‘several extraneous elements have surfaced’ impeding progress in ongoing trade negotiations and likelihood of the deadline being missed.
They said that the Indian government had taken an ‘inflexible stand’ on recent statement by the UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, that trade deal between the two countries will trigger influx of skilled workers from India to UK and visitors from India ‘overstaying’ their visa.
The officials said that the Indian government had found the Home Secretary’s statement on visa overstayers from India as ‘disrespectful’ and for the Indian government ‘mobility of people between the two countries’ is a key element for any FTA to be successful.
Observing that India already represents the largest group of visa overstayers, Baverman has been quoted in the media saying “I have concerns having open borders migration policy with India because I don’t think that’s what people voted for with Brexit.”