Ahead of the virtual summit between prime minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Boris Johnson later on Tuesday, the British government has announced a trade and investment deal worth 1 billion pounds with India.
The Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) sets the ambition to double the bilateral trade by 2030. It also declares a “shared intent” to work towards a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.
As per Downing Street, the deal foresees the creation of more than 6,500 jobs and over 533 million pounds of new investment in the UK.
Some of the aspects of deal unveiled by UK is:
- The Serum Institute of India would invest 240 million pounds in the UK in pursuance of supporting clinical trials, research and development and manufacturing vaccines. It’s expected to generate new business worth over $1 billion;
- HCL, Global Gene Corp, TVS Motors and Goila Butter Chicken are some of the Indian firms featuring in the investment deals;
- British businesses have secured export deals with India worth more than 446 million pounds; some names include Morningside Pharmaceuticals and BP in partnership with Infosys;
- The ETP would enable fruit producers in the UK to export British apples, pears and quince to India for the first time;
- A commitment to conclude work on the recognition of UK higher educational qualifications
- Both nations would work on removing barriers that prevent UK lawyers from practising international and foreign law in India
