New Delhi, Jan 28 (UNI) Seeking to negotiate an early trade deal, India and the UK have concluded the first round of talks for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries. During this round, technical experts from the two sides have covered 26 policy areas including trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property, customs and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, competition, SMEs and sustainability. “The negotiations were productive and reflected our shared ambition to secure a comprehensive deal to boost trade between the 5th and 6th largest economies in the world. The positive discussions in round one have laid the groundwork for the UK and India to make positive and efficient progress,” said a joint outcome statement. The second round of negotiations is due to take place on 7-18 March 2022. “Both teams maintain a shared ambition to conclude negotiations by the end of 2022 – as part of both sides’ efforts to secure a comprehensive agreement. Chief negotiators will continue to consider the benefits of an interim agreement,” the statement said. India and UK earlier this month launched FTA negotiations proposing to double bilateral trade by 2030.
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