India-UK FTA likely to be announced soon, says FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is likely to be announced soon. Addressing the B20 summit, the Finance Minister said that India is continuously in touch with various nations and even the European FTA (EFTA) is in the pipeline. EFTA includes Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland. “We need to quickly diversify our supply chains. Well-functioning international markets with resilient and efficient supply chains are the ones that can help us sustain our growth. So, we need to cushion ourselves sufficiently against any shock that can happen,” Sitharaman said. India and the UK have been negotiating on the FTA since 2022. Earlier this week, UK trade secretary Kemi Badenoch had said that the negotiations are now in the final stages