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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday dismissed criticism over delays in signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and its important partners and said the government is considering merits and risks.
"We are right now, in the middle of some fairly serious negotiations with some fairly serious partners... I hear this naysayer narrative coming back, why isn't India quickly signing up with the UK? Nobody says why isn't the UK quickly signing up with India? So somewhere, it is like we have to make that accommodation. We are the people who somewhere are holding back, and we should speed it up because every FTA and every open step is an achievement in itself," he said. He added, "FTAs have a use. I'm not at all in denial, but FTAs, at the end of the day, for a country with the per capita income that we have, for a country with the small producers that we do, I would very, very judiciously consider the merits and the risks of an FTA. Because at the end of the day, we are exposing, every decision of an FTA is exposing millions of people. Their livelihoods are on the line." These remarks came when EAM Jaishankar was addressing a book launch event in Delhi. He also went on to mention that the decisions taken in the last 75 years of independence were entirely right or not and said "It's important, to look back". He stated, "I think today it is very important for us, after 75 years of independence, to introspect more about foreign policy. Because, often we tend to think that the decisions which were taken were the only decisions that could have been taken, which may not be entirely true...It's important, to look back, keep refreshing, correcting ourselves. I think that's one way really of getting foreign policy right." This comes as India and the UK are negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Talks for FTA between India and the UK started in 2022. The recent visit of a high-level UK delegation to India, coupled with detailed discussions at both higher and team levels, underscores the determination to iron out differences and propel the FTA forward. The India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was discussed during External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar's meeting with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on his recent visit to the country in November. Importantly, there is no specified deadline for the India-UK FTA, underscoring the dedication to achieving a comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade deal. (ANI)
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