PTI
January 22nd, London
A free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the UK is due to be signed this year, but it will not facilitate the provision of free movement visas to Indians, the UK trade minister in charge of negotiations said.
do not negotiate free movement
We left the European Union because we didn’t believe in free movement. This is not a deal to negotiate free movement with India.
Kemi Badenoch, UK Trade Minister
Kemi Badenok traveled to New Delhi last month to kick off the sixth round of FTA negotiations with Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal.
In a recent interview, the UK Trade Minister also ruled out key similarities between India and the FTA the UK signed with Australia (one of the first post-Brexit trade deals).
“We left the EU because we don’t believe in free movement and we didn’t think it worked. This is not an agreement with India negotiating any kind of free movement.” said Minister Badenok, referring to the provision of more visas.
