India and UK agreed to a new Enchanced Trade Partnership (ETP) and adopted an ambitious 'Roadmap to 2030' which paves way for a UK-India Free Trade Agreement.
The document charts out a partnership between the two nations over the next decade and will be periodically reviewed by both foreign ministers, who will report to the prime ministers.
“Through this ambitious roadmap, we will elevate the India-UK relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," it said.
Here is all you need to know.
Migration and Mobility partnership: Of the nine pacts signed at the summit, one was for a Migration and Mobility partnership. This includes the facilitating of "legal movement of students and professionals and also enhance cooperation between India and UK in combating illegal migration," a statement from the External Affairs Ministry said. It “creates a new scheme for exchange of young professionals under which every year up to 3,000 young Indian professionals can avail employment opportunities in the UK for a period of two years without being subject to labour market test," the statement said.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and UK Home Secretary Priti Patel signed this pact.
Free Trade Agreement: When discussing the India-UK trade partnership, the document highlighted the intent to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement. This has been described as an “important" and “historic" moment in ties, by Sandeep Chakravarty, joint secretary in charge of Western Europe in the External Affairs Ministry.
Piyush Goyal, the Commerce and Industry Minister signed the Enhanced Trade Partnership with Elizabeth Trust, his counterpart. The pre-FTA discussions will be concluded by the end of the years and an interim deal is to be reached by next year to further the discussions for an FTA.
“As part of the confidence-building measures, they (India and the UK) have also agreed on an early market access package under the ETP," Chakravarty said.
“Under this, the UK will open up the fisheries sector for more Indian players, facilitate more opportunities for nurses, recognise Indian seafarers certificates and also enter into a joint dialogue on the Social Security Agreement. In return, India has agreed to UK's asks on fruits, medical devices, and mutual recognition of masters degrees and also work towards reciprocal opening of legal services. These actions are likely to generate 20-25,000 new direct and indirect jobs in India," he said.
Access to India businesses in UK: The document explains the cooperation between the nations to reduce or remove marker barriers that Indian businesses face in the UK and vice-versa, Both sides would “continue to share experience on regulatory reform, tax administration, and trade facilitation and standards through the early conclusion of a new and refreshed UK-India Ease of Doing Business MoU," it said.
Infrastructure policy: Deepening cooperation on infrastructure “through the new UK-India Partnership on Infrastructure Financing and Policy to support India’s ambitious plans for delivering inclusive resilient and sustainable infrastructure under the National Infrastructure Pipeline," has been mentioned.
Support to startups: India and the UK aim to strengthen two-way investments “with the goal of investing into Indian start-ups, early-stage and green businesses and other innovative ventures and contributing towards sustainable development".
The two countries would also explore “longer term options for a UK concessional finance offer to mobilise UK expertise into clean, green and sustainable infrastructure projects in India," the document stated.
Education: Expansion of cooperation between the educational institutions of the two countries under the framework of India’s New Education Policy that was announced last year, has been outlined in the roadmap. The UK has been a favourite education destination for thousands of Indian students. The package will create more than 6,500 new jobs around the UK for Indians.
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