Labour party aims to boost trade ties with India

Labour party’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy and shadow business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds on Monday (5) began a three-day visit to India to strengthen diplomatic and trade ties.

The Labour leaders will visit Delhi and Mumbai to meet senior Indian politicians and business leaders and discuss their party’s proposals for a new ‘UK-India strategic partnership’.

The Labour party also plans to use a future free trade agreement as a starting block to build a closer partnership on technology, as well as economic, climate and global security.

“We are in Delhi to discuss the need for a new UK-India strategic partnership that focuses on new and green technologies, economic security, domestic security and global security,” they said.

The Conservative government have so far failed to deliver the much-anticipated UK-India FTA, which Boris Johnson had promised to deliver by Diwali 2022.

The Labour leaders said, “For too many years, the Conservative government have overpromised and undelivered on the UK’s relationship with India... Labour will offer a fresh approach.”

They said Labour’s foreign, industrial, and business and trade policy will help the UK achieve the highest sustained growth in the G7.

The Labour leaders will meet senior Indian politicians including external affairs minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, and railways, IT and telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

They will hold meetings with senior business leaders, including those from the Essar Group, TCS, Piramal Group, and HDFC, and visit the stock exchange in Mumbai.

“Labour’s ambition for working with India does not stop with a trade deal. India is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2030 and Labour is committed to deepening our relationship for the modern era,” they added.