New Delhi [India], February 25 (ANI): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor welcomed the revival of Free Trade Agreement negotiations between India and the United Kingdom.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP shared a selfie of him with Britain's Secretary of State, Jonathan Reynolds, and Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal.

Shashi Tharoor wrote on X, 'Good to exchange words with Jonathan Reynolds, Britain's Secretary of State for Business and Trade, in the company of his Indian counterpart, Commerce and Industry Minister @PiyushGoyal. The long-stalled FTA negotiations have been revived, which is most welcome.'

https://x.com/ShashiTharoor/status/1894225091149664308

On Monday, India and the United Kingdom resumed negotiations on a trade deal that is 'balanced, mutually beneficial and forward-looking.'

The announcement was made by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade of the United Kingdom Jonathan Reynolds, who is in the national capital.

Piyush Goyal and Jonathan Reynolds directed the negotiators to work together to resolve the outstanding issues in the agreement to ensure a fair and equitable trade deal for shared success.

Speaking at the joint press conference, Goyal said it will be 'a pathbreaking free trade agreement' that will give the businesses and people of both countries huge opportunities to grow the current USD 20 billion bilateral trade in merchandise to probably two to three times in the next ten years.

'Both Jonathan and I have agreed to resume free trade agreement negotiations in a very cordial atmosphere,' he said.

The minister added that both sides have decided to build upon the strong groundwork that 14 previous rounds have developed.

'I would like to call this FTA a forward-looking, transparent, ambitious, equitable, balanced and mutually beneficial agreement, which will be a win-win for both our countries,' he added.

Jonathan Reynolds said the resumption of negotiations for trade negotiations will strengthen close and vibrant partnership between the two countries.

'It's an excellent place to start from, but both of us want to do more and that's why I am so pleased to be here today to kick-start these negotiations, to strengthen our close and vibrant relationship and unlock new opportunities for businesses and consumers across both the UK and India, because at the centre of my government is a mission to deliver economic growth, to put pounds back in people's pockets, to support our businesses, to thrive, to create wealth and jobs and opportunity,' Reynolds said.

Goyal said the two sides will move 'quickly without being hurried'.

India-UK FTA negotiations were launched on January 13 2022. Thirteen rounds of negotiations were held till December 2023. The 14th round of negotiations, which began on January 10 2024, was underway when negotiations were paused by the UK side in May 2024 due to their elections. (ANI)