"Scrubbing work is underway": Vikram Doraiswami on FTA ahead of PM Modi's UK visit

London [UK], July 23 : Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Britain, Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami on Tuesday said "substantive negotiations" completed on the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and the "scrubbing work is underway."

Doraiswami said that FTA is poised for a significant milestone in bilateral trade relations between the two nations.

Speaking toahead of Prime Minister Modi's official visit to the UK, Doraiswami highlighted the advancements in the FTA process, noting that the "scrubbing work" is currently underway, which involves finalising the legal text of the agreement, a critical step before signing.

"The free trade agreement ...essentially the substantive negotiations finished on the 6th of May. The scrubbing work is underway. It would, of course, not be proper for me to speculate about when it will be signed, but the important point is that the text must be completely ready for it to be signed," he stated.

"And after that, of course, then we move to the ratification and implementation stage but it's a good time for the relationship, the trade relationship in particular, and the extraordinary work done by the Commerce Ministry team and all of my colleagues here in the High Commission is a reason why we're in a great position to look at the future of the India-UK relationship," he added.

After nearly three years of negotiations, the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) announced on May 6.

Doraiswami's remark came ahead of PM Modi's 2-day visit to the UK on July 23 at the invitation of his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer. During the visit, he will also call on King Charles III.

The visit provides both leaders with the opportunity to review the entire scope of the bilateral relationship and discuss ways to further strengthen it. They will also discuss issues of regional and global relevance.

The India-UK partnership was upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021, and since then has seen regular high-level political exchanges, and both sides remain committed to taking this partnership to even higher levels.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who briefed the media on PM Modi's visit to the UK and Maldives earlier in the day in New Delhi, said the sectors of business, technology, research, education, innovation, and the knowledge economy have emerged as key pillars of India-UK bilateral cooperation.

Misri further stated that "legal scrubbing" was left for the agreement to go through, and final details on the matter will be announced at an "appropriate time".

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