EXPERT COMMENT
David Lammy will use his visit to renew momentum on the FTA negotiations, but he should also realize the strategic, economic and symbolic potential of a deeper UK-India relationship.
The visit of British Foreign Secretary David Lammy to India in the first month of the new UK government has sent a clear signal to New Delhi that it is eager to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) between both countries. In a speech shortly before the election, Lammy said ‘Labour is ready to go' on the deal, adding that he saw the FTA ‘as the floor, not the ceiling in the relationship'. The third term Narendra Modi government in New Delhi also ensures continued momentum on the trade deal.
But the UK needs a strategy for India that goes beyond the FTA. This includes more progress in areas ranging from technology, defence, education and the energy transition, and it means taking practical steps in difficult areas, such as the UK's visa policies. Establishing quotas for specific industries facing labour shortages or deemed strategically important - like nursing or IT professionals - would address both the UK's desire to tighten immigration, and the fact that Indians are among the largest group of legal migrants to the UK in recent years.
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