India and the United Kingdom discuss trade negotiations giving a boost to already cordial bilateral relations

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal held detailed trade discussions with UK Secretary of State for International trade Liz Truss in New Delhi. This was the first post-COVID visit of a Trade Minister to India.

“Participated in detailed trade negotiations with Secretary of State for International trade, UK @TrussLiz Using the first post-COVID-19 visit of a Trade Minister to India, we hope to formalize our historic & vibrant trade relationship to create an alliance of two democraciesFlag of IndiaFlag of United Kingdom,” said Goyal in a tweet.



“We are committed to developing an enhanced trade partnership between our two democracies and building back better from COVID-19,” Liz Truss said on Twitter after the meeting.



The visit follows a virtual dialogue between the two ministers in November 2020 to review the progress on a closer post-Brexit bilateral tie-up, which Goyal has articulated as holding out the promise of early harvest pacts ahead of a more full-fledged India-UK free trade agreement (FTA).

India and the UK continue to enjoy a strong bilateral trade relationship. In 2019, bilateral trade in goods and services between the two countries were respectively worth US$15.7 billion and US$18.9 billion (£11.5 billion and £13.8 billion) and becoming increasingly important.

The UK's services exports to India have grown at 7 percent a year between 2013 and 2018, and yet India continues to enjoy a trade surplus with the UK. The UK is also the second-largest investor in India.

Meanwhile, India is the second-largest investor in the UK after the US. India invested in 120 projects and created 5,429 new jobs in the UK in 2018-19. Indian companies in the UK turn over an excess of £40 billion.