John Healey and India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh review ongoing programme on the exchange of military instructors in each other’s training institutes…reports Asian Lite News
India-UK cooperation in niche defence technology areas such as electric propulsion and jet engines figured in a phone conversation between India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and John Healey.
Singh and Healey also explored the possibilities of joint work by the two countries in the Indo-Pacific. “We reviewed the excellent progress made in niche defence technology areas and discussed ways to further deepen cooperation in defence,” Singh said on X.
An Indian readout of the conversation said the two ministers briefly discussed the ongoing defence cooperation issues and emphasised on the need to maintain the “momentum” in the bilateral relations.
“The defence minister and UK Secretary of State for Defence reviewed the excellent progress made between the two countries in niche defence technology areas such as electric propulsion and jet engines,” it said.
“They expressed satisfaction over the recent signing of the Statement of Intent on Electric Propulsion,” it added.
The two ministers also reviewed the ongoing programme on the exchange of military instructors in each other’s training institutes, the readout noted.
“With the increased focus of the UK on the Indo-Pacific, both sides will explore the possibilities of joint work and enhanced maritime engagements in 2025,” it said.
‘FTA talks to resume in Feb’
India and the UK are exploring convenient dates to resume the talks for the proposed free trade agreement in early February, according to India’s commerce ministry.
The talks for the proposed FTA began in January 2022. The 14th round of talks stalled as the two nations stepped into their general election cycles. “Mutually convenient date is being explored for the next round of negotiations for early February,” the ministry informed.
The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to $21.34 billion in 2023-24 from $20.36 billion in 2022-23. Regarding a similar agreement with the European Union (EU), the ministry said that the tenth round of talks is scheduled from March 10-14 in Brussels.
The two sides are negotiating a free trade agreement, an investment protection agreement and an agreement on geographical indications (GIs). In the ninth round, both sides discussed trade issues covering goods, services, investment and government procurement along with necessary rules such as rules of origin, SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary), and technical barriers to trade.
In June 2022, India and the 27-nation EU bloc resumed the negotiations after a gap of over eight years. It was stalled in 2013 due to differences over several issues.
The total trade has surpassed $ 200 billion in 2023. India exported $75.18 billion in goods and $31.13 billion in services to the EU, while the EU exported $ 63.44 billion in goods and $ 31.35 billion in services to India. Further on the India-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) free trade agreement, it said that the two sides are currently in the process of finalising terms of references for the pact.
The five members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
In such agreements, two or more trading partners either eliminate or significantly reduce customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. These agreements provide greater market access to Indian goods and services. Russia is the top trading partner of India in the bloc. India’s exports to Russia stood at $ 4.26 billion in 2023-24, while imports were $ 61.43 billion due to an increase in crude oil imports.
On the progress in talks for review of free trade agreement in goods between India and ASEAN, Additional Secretary in the ministry Rajesh Agarwal said that the next round of meeting is scheduled from February 10 onwards in Indonesia. There is progress in the negotiations, but there are some issues in goods.
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