London, Jan 30 (PTI) The ministers in the UK’s Department of Business and Trade (DBT) are determined to work extremely hard to secure the “significant prize” of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India, the British government told Parliament on Thursday.

During questions on the topic of trade in the House of Commons, Opposition Conservative Party MP Bob Blackman asked the Labour government about the steps being taken to negotiate the FTA and ensuring access to the services market in India, which he said “has previously been denied to UK firms”.

It comes after UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds confirmed plans for a visit to Delhi next month to formally relaunch trade talks, stalled by the general election cycles in both countries last year.

“The secretary of state will travel to Delhi in February to relaunch trade talks with India,” Gareth Thomas stated in the Commons, responding on behalf of the government as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade in the DBT.

“Work is under way across government to prepare for those negotiations as we seek a deal that drives economic growth. An agreement with India, projected to be the fourth-largest global importer by 2035, could provide further opportunities for businesses across the UK and further unlock growth,” he said.

The MP for Harrow West in London went on to refer to himself and his Tory colleague, Bob Blackman – who is the MP for his neighbouring constituency of Harrow East, as “enthusiastic” supporters of the FTA.

“He will forgive me, I am sure, if I do not give a running commentary on our priorities for those trade talks with India, but they represent a significant prize for the UK if we can reach an agreement. "The Secretary of State [Reynolds] and the Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security [Douglas Alexander] are determined to work extremely hard and do everything they can to reach an agreement,” Thomas said.

India and the UK have held 14 rounds of negotiations since January 2022 towards an FTA, with an aim to significantly enhance the estimated GBP 42 billion a year bilateral trade partnership.

On the topic of the bilateral talks in the Commons, Labour MP Douglas McAllister raised the detention of his Scottish Sikh constituent from West Dunbartonshire in India on terror-related charges.

“Will the minister ensure that the talks include discussion of an agreement to the immediate release of my constituent Jagtar Singh Johal from arbitrary detention in India before any trade deal is concluded,” asked McAllister.

“We remain committed to encouraging the Government of India to make faster progress on resolving this case,” replied Gareth Thomas, adding that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had raised the case with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their bilateral meeting on November 18 last year.

“We have made clear the need for faster progress towards a resolution,” added the minister.

Starmer and Modi held talks on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil in November 2024, following which the UK PM had announced plans to relaunch the FTA negotiations by early 2025.

On Wednesday, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves referenced the trade deal with India as an important aspect of the government’s faster economic growth agenda.

“I am pleased to confirm that the Business and Trade Secretary [Reynolds] will shortly visit India to restart talks on the Free Trade Agreement and Bilateral Investment Treaty, which the last government failed to deliver,” said Reeves, as she delivered a key economic policy speech in Oxfordshire. PTI AK GSP GSP