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International Trade Minister Liz Truss has completed a five-day visit to India to point the way to a possible future free trade agreement and deeper trade ties.

The Foreign Secretary announced today that the government has helped generate a number of investment gains that will create jobs across the UK.

This includes a significant investment by technology and digital company Tata Consultancy Services that will create 1,500 high-quality jobs in locations across the UK.

India is the fastest growing economy in the world with longstanding ties with the UK and a potential market of 1.4 billion people. On Saturday, Truss agreed with Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on a draft of a new Extended Trade Partnership (ETP) as part of developing a roadmap that would lead to a potentially comprehensive free trade agreement, including consideration of an interim preference-based agreement.

UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said: “India is the world’s largest democracy and a nation that shares our belief in free enterprise. Deeper trade ties will create opportunities for UK companies that just weren’t there as part of the EU, and set the stage for a much closer partnership with one of the economic powerhouses of the present and future to ensure that more investors like Tata Consultancy Services create jobs and growth to the UK. We will work much closer together in tomorrow’s industries like science, technology, and green growth so we can better back down and achieve an export, investment, and job-related recovery from coronavirus. “

UK-India’s 2019 trade ties worth £ 23 billion support key industries such as technology and life sciences, as well as around half a million jobs in each other’s economies.

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