A recent awards ceremony highlighted the growing links between young Indian businesses and the UK. Ministers from the UK and Europe were among the winners at the Indo-European Business Forum (IEBF) awards ceremony in the House of Lords complex in London in recognition of their work to promote ties with India.
Speaking at the event, the UK technology and digital minister Paul Scully hailed the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations as holding out great promise but stressed that the bilateral relationship went beyond that.
India’s economy has gone amazingly gangbusters because of the innovation and dedication of the people who have shown such enterprise, not just in India but in all of the countries where the diaspora is spread out.
“The UK and India have very tight links and we need to deepen them further. And, it’s not all about the free trade agreement, which is hugely important… It’s so much more than just getting the ink dry on a piece of paper. It’s about deepening our wider relationship,” he said.
The IEBF event, entitled Indo-European Business Alliances, returned after a pandemic-induced hiatus to highlight its core objective of establishing a path between India, UK and other European countries to facilitate greater political and economic cooperation. As part of that the UK is encouraging younger and fast growing businesses from India to locate and invest in the UK.
“We’ve certainly seen growing interest in Indian firms looking to the UK as a place to locate and expand,” says Paul Beare, whose accounting practice specialises in helping growing businesses from across the world set up in the UK.
The UK is an increasingly attractive place for Indian businesses, drawn there not only by the traditional ties but also the thriving start up scene.
Vijay Goel, co-founder of IEBF said the timing of the FTA is crucial. “It is the most opportune moment in the India-UK corridor with Rishi Sunak as the first UK Prime Minister of Indian heritage and India under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Modi.”
And the prospect of a free trade deal are reasonably positive, according to UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. “But this is an important agreement for us and one that we are really prioritising and one that we will continue to ensure that our officials and our ministers speak about regularly and work hard to deliver,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of work done. And it’s incredibly important that we remember that an extensive free trade agreement like the one we’re negotiating, it’s never going to be simple, but it’s an incredibly important vehicle to build on our already strong relationship and to make it really future-focused.”
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- Written by: Paul Beare
- Posted on: November 30, 2022
- Tags: feature, Free trade agreement, India