India FTA by Diwali 'Absolutely Achievable' : UK Trade Minister

According to Anne-Marie Trevelyan, UK Trade Secretary, a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), between India and the United Kingdom (UK) is "absolutely possible" given the Diwali timeline by Prime Ministers Boris Johnson & Narendra Modi. There are only a few technical legal issues that need to be resolved.

The minister in charge of negotiations for the UK government confirmed that both sides are moving forward with market access. However, he said that they will need to come to an agreement.

"We have been set the challenge to get a deal by this Diwali, 24th October is seared in my brain," she stated during a UK-India Week forum about trade relations.

"That's really helped our negotiators to really focus and where the big prizes are. It's imperative as we all want to get on so that our businesses get cracking. It is absolutely achievable. She added, "It might be in a practical sense we haven't completed some boring technical bit, but what we are clear is that by Diwali we have got that whole picture and we know where we have the mutually value-adding parts,"