Kemi Badenoch to meet with Tata Group boss while on G20 India visit
Trade secretary Kemi Badenoch will meet with Indian ministers and business leaders – including Tata Group boss Natarajan Chandrasekaran – during her visit for the G20.
It comes amid the UK’s 12th round of negotiations to secure a UK-India trade deal with British negotiators gearing up for “ambitious” and “complex” discussions, sources say.
Landing in Jaipur ahead of the global leaders summit in September, Badenoch said she was “delighted” to be visiting, adding: “The UK and India have a thriving relationship and we both share an ambition to deepen our cultural and trading ties.”
She will also meet with Indian commerce minister Piyush Goyal, pitch for greater use of digital trade to cut red tape and attend a summit in New Delhi, meeting representatives from firms including BP, HSBC, Vodafone, Rolls Royce and the Confederation of Indian Industry.
The Chandrasekaran bilateral follows July’s announcement of a new £4bn UK gigafactory.
Negotiations to secure the key free trade agreement (FTA) date back to Boris Johnson’s premiership, which saw him claim the government would deliver a “deal by Diwali”.
Sunak’s administration has watered down his rhetoric, with trade ministers focused on “deals not dates”, while Badenoch steered away from firm commitments on FTA timing.
Topics expected to be covered in upcoming talks include goods, services, and investment – but sources have downplayed expectations of an FTA being “imminent”.
India’s “economic superpower” status is set to propel it to the world’s third largest GDP by 2030, forecasts suggest, while existing UK trade was already worth £36bn in 2022.
Delhi wants to secure improved terms for goods, services and work visas, and whisky, cars, services and investment are seen as key for London, as deliberations progress.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is launching a marketing blitz to highlight the UK and India’s shared cultural links, ranging from cricket and cinema to food and football.
Dubbed ‘Alive with Opportunity, the £1.5m campaign includes targeted trade missions for high-growth sectors, such as higher education, agri-tech and e-sports.
Officials say it will help double trade with India and boost inward investment by 2030, and that it aims to bring PM Narendra Modi’s ‘living bridge’ concept of India-UK exchange to life.
UK-India Business Council CEO, Richard McCallum, said: “UK companies recognise India is one of the fastest growing economies – alive with R&D, talent and manufacturing opportunity.
“Indian firms are also embracing UK technology and capital to grow internationally.”
Delegates from both countries will gather at the Agritech India exhibit and the Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai next month, followed by a railway summit and tech mission later this year, ahead of the first UK-India Roadshow, set to take place in Britain in January.