India-UK Trade and Economic Cooperation in the Context of Developments in the Indo-Pacific Region

CUTS - Bridge India Webinar "India-UK Trade and Economic
Cooperation in the Context of Developments in the Indo-Pacific

Region"
15 December 2020
Tuesday 10:00 AM GMT/03:30 PM 1ST

Speakers
PRADEEP S MEHTA, Secretary General, CUTS International
A DIDAR SINGH, Distinguished Fellow, CUTS International
ARTI LAD, Development, Practitioner
STEFANIA BENAGLIA, Associate Researcher, Centre for European Policy Studies
LORD MEGHNAD DESAI, British Economist and Former Labour Politician
LORD JONATHAN MARLAND, Chair, Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council
JAIMINI BHAGWATI, Former High commissioner of India to the United Kingdom

Linked by common democratic values and principles, India and the UK are two potential partners who can collaborate with each other for a mutually benefitting and exciting future. India was the second largest source of FDI in the UK in 2019 and India-UK investment relationship supports over half a million jobs. Being a major source of investment and employment generation, along with sharing a similar vision of free and open Indo-Pacific based on rules based international order; India can be a reliable economic partner for the UK in its post-Brexit strategy in the Indo-Pacific region.

Despite having a history of being the second largest trading partner of India in 1998-99, UK is now 16th in the list of India's trading partners, which indicates the need to revamp the bilateral relations between India and UK in multiple domains. At a time when the European countries including Germany and France are returning to the Indo-Pacific, cooperation with India in the Indo-Pacific will not only help the UK economically, but also to position itself as a key player in the dynamic geopolitical and security environment.
Moreover, as the UK government is expected to launch its Indo-Pacific vision, India and the UK can fruitfully explore and accelerate mutual and multi-country partnerships in areas of financial and supply chain resilience, maritime security, trade and investment, addressing climate change and building telecommunication infrastructure. India has also invited the UK to have an initial limited trade deal that can potentially go for a full stretched bilateral free trade agreement.

Given the background of this webinar, being jointly organised by CUTS International and Bridge India, to discuss India-UK trade and economic cooperation, keeping in mind the recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region.