Facts:
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Mutual trade has declined. Bilateral trade at $14 billion falls far short of their $30 billion goal announced in 2010
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After Brexit India and UK held talks on the possibility of inking a separate U.K.-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
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A lack of trust permeates the bilateral relationship between Britain and India : Britain’s former High Commissioner to India
Key Issues:
While India’s relations with western countries such as the US and France have dramatically improved in recent years, ties with Britain have lagged because of the following reasons:
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India’s concerns
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Mistrust between the two countries owing to the colonial legacy.
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The bitter experience of the Partition and Britain’s perceived tilt to Pakistan.
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British Labour Party’s growing political negativity towards India. For instance,
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Supporting for self-determination for Kashmiris.
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Criticism of government over recent farmers’ agitation.
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Efforts of the Indian government to extradite high net worth individuals such as Vijay Mallya back to the country and
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British concerns
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Demands around opening up of financial and legal services in India, and its opposition to India’s visa and mobility demands as part of any agreement.
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What are the possible areas of convergence for mutual development?
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Cooperation in the health sector:
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Bilateral strategic cooperation in the health sector can help India to benefit from the enormous potential of U.K in public health sector.
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Britain along with the G-7 countries can help transform India’s internal capabilities in the Health sector.
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Building new global economic partnerships. Since both the countries have moved away from their regional blocs (India-RCEP, Britain-EU) a new economic partnership will benefit both the nations immensely.
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Cooperation in geopolitical issues. For instance, Britain is tilting to the Indo-Pacific, where India is a natural ally. Whereas, India needs a wider coalition as possible to balance aggressive China.
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Cooperation in mitigation of Climate change. The U.K can support India for the adoption of a Clean mechanism and e-mobility in the transport sector.
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Cooperation in labour movement. Agreement on “migration and mobility” to facilitate the legal movement of Indians into Britain can benefit India’s skilled workforce.