Paving way for greater collaboration and exchange of expertise across areas, India-UK sign MoU on law and justice

New Delhi, July 17: Celebrating the strength of strategic economic partnership and growing bilateral trading relationship between India and United Kingdom, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal reiterated commitment to a dynamic new India-UK trade partnership viewing to expand joint work to reduce barriers to trade.

 

“Total trade between the UK and India has increased by 27 per cent. India and the UK have a shared interest in continuing to develop this important relationship to further our own and wider international prosperity”, Goyal said at 13th meeting of the India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) at London.

 

 

With this the duo signed a Memorandum of Understanding on law and justice that would pave the way for greater collaboration and exchange of expertise across areas including rule of law, dispute resolution, training, use of technology and legal services regulation.

Viewing to expand the scope of trading relationship, the duo further explored the building blocks that would allow for more ambitious trade arrangements in the future. They also noted the establishment of government to government dialogues on food and drink, information communications technology (ICT), life sciences and services statistics. “We were pleased by the close collaboration with business and progress made to address non-tariff barriers to trade in these sector work-streams”, Goyal added.

 

Under the Joint Working Group on trade both sides reaffirmed the crucial role of the World Trade Organisation in underpinning the rules based multilateral trading system, and the importance of enhancing free, fair, and open trade for achieving sustainable growth and development.

Further welcoming the progress on the UK India Fast Track Start-up Fund which would provide investment capital into a portfolio of Alternative Investment Funds, both sides lauded the strength of the UK-India investment relationship and reaffirmed the mutual commitment to facilitate foreign investment.

While the next meeting of the JETCO would take place in New Delhi in 2020, both delegations committed to continue working together to accelerate the already deepening India-UK partnership and enable the two countries to reach their full trading potential.