India-UK relations: 14th JETCO meeting to be held in New Delhi next year

The next India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) will take place in New Delhi next year, according to a joint statement of the 13th JETCO meeting held here on July 15.

The incumbent Minister of Railways and Commerce, Piyush Goyal, co-hosted the latest instalment of the JETCO meeting with the British Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox in London.

"Both delegations committed to continue working together to accelerate the already deepening India-UK partnership and enable the two countries to reach their full trading potential," the statement read.

Multiple facets of the trade relations shared between India and the UK were discussed during the meeting.

They reiterated their commitment to a dynamic new India-UK Trade Partnership which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British counterpart Theresa May in April 2018.

The two sides welcomed the progress made through the UK-India Multilateral Dialogue, the next meeting of which is planned for Autumn 2019.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to the non-discriminatory treatment of foreign investment. The UK and India have been the top five investors in each other's economies since 2010. The UK has been the largest EU investor in India since 2000 and India is now the second-largest investor in the UK.

Last year, over 55,000 skilled work visas were granted by the UK to India alone, which is more than the rest of the world combined.

India-UK trade has continued to increase over the last three years. Between 2015 and 2018, the total trade between the UK and India has increased by 27 per cent, to PS20.5 billion.