‘Unparalleled opportunities waiting to be seized under FTA’
New Delhi : Stating that the visa situation hasn’t changed with the landmark free trade agreement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the UK will not relax visa rules for India, as he arrived in the country to tout the benefits of the agreement.
The Prime Minister is leading a delegation of more than 100 entrepreneurs, cultural leaders and university vice-chancellors, as he attempts to boost UK investment and improve sluggish economic growth.
Starmer said there were “massive opportunities” to improve trade and cultural ties with India.
But he said there were no plans to open up more visa routes to Indian workers or students.
Starmer said, “The visa situation hasn’t changed with the free trade agreement — we didn’t open up more visas. The issue is not about visas — it’s about business-to-business engagement and investment and jobs and prosperity coming into the United Kingdom.”
He added that allowing more highly skilled workers from India “isn’t part of the plans”.
Stating that the opportunities waiting to be seized under the India-UK free trade agreement are “unparalleled”, Starmer said the trade deal is a “launchpad for growth” with India set to be the third biggest global economy by 2028.
The British leader landed in Mumbai this morning on a two-day visit.
Starmer and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold wide-ranging talks on Thursday to explore ways to further expand bilateral ties.
“We signed a major trade deal with India in July – the best secured by any country – but the story doesn’t stop there,” the British Prime Minister said.
“It’s not just a piece of paper; it’s a launchpad for growth. With India set to be the third biggest economy in the world by 2028, and trade with them about to become quicker and cheaper, the opportunities waiting to be seized are unparalleled,” he said.
Starmer said growth in India means more choice, stability and jobs at home for the British people.
His visit to India comes two-and-half months after the two countries inked the landmark free trade pact that will increase market access, cut tariffs and double bilateral trade by 2030.
The trade deal was firmed up during Modi’s visit to London in July.
A British readout on Starmer’s India trip said it seeks to build on the momentum from the UK-India trade deal as it will open access for British businesses to one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
Following the deal, which will lower tariffs on British goods being imported into India, the “door is now open” for UK businesses to “turbocharge” their trade with one of the fastest growing economies in the world, it said.
Top executives of major companies such as Rolls Royce, British Telecom, Diageo, London Stock Exchange and British Airways are part of Starmer’s delegation.
“We’ve shown there is no limit on our ambition to grow trade with India… In less than a year we’ve gone from restarting talks on a deal, to bringing 125 brilliant business leaders to its commercial capital,” said Peter Kyle, the UK’s business and trade secretary.
The deal is the best any country has ever secured with India and places British businesses at the front of the queue to access a huge and ever-growing market, he said.
“Now we are hitting the ground running and using every means necessary to ready businesses to take full advantage of the massive wins we’ve secured once the deal comes into force so we can deliver growth, jobs, and prosperity at home,” he added.
India’s average tariff on British products will drop from 15 per cent to three per cent. This means British companies selling products to India, from soft drinks and cosmetics to cars and medical devices, will find it easier to sell to the Indian market, according to the readout.
It said whisky producers will particularly benefit from tariffs being reduced immediately from 150 per cent to 75 per cent, and then dropped even further to 40 per cent over the next 10 years that will give the UK an advantage over international competitors.