A day after UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman forged doubts over a proposed free commerce cope with India, linking the difficulty to migration and saying that Indians are “the largest group of people in the UK who are on visas for more than a year”. Let’s wait”, New Delhi said, adding that both sides are keen to end the FTA “on the earliest”.
“There is an interest on both sides to conclude the FTA at the earliest. I understand that intensive discussions are on and are going on on this,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated on Friday. When requested about the timeframe, Bagchi stated, “I think Diwali was set as a target but it is a target.”
However, a State Department spokesman declined to remark particularly on Braverman’s feedback. “All talks are part of a transaction. It should be a win-win for both sides. I don’t want to get into what people say from a domestic perspective,” Bagchi stated.
In an interview to the British weekly journal “The Spectator” on Thursday, Braverman, 42, the Indian-origin minister, expressed concern about “an open border migration policy with India”. She additionally indicated that she wouldn’t supply cupboard assist for a commerce deal providing India extra visa concessions.
“I worry about an open border migration policy with India because I don’t think people voted for Brexit,” Braverman informed the journal. “We also entered into an agreement with the Government of India last year to encourage and facilitate better cooperation in this regard. It didn’t necessarily work very well,” she stated.
Braverman was referring to the Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP), which was signed by his predecessor Priti Patel and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the Home Office in May final 12 months.
In Delhi on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson stated that they don’t have information on overstays. “I haven’t got information on overstay or in any other case, I’m not even positive I’ll be capable of touch upon that… We strongly encourage authorized immigration each time there’s an Indian citizen overseas and in the event that they’re returned. If there’s a want to return, they may come again,” stated Bagchi.
“Migration dynamics is an important element and you know there was an understanding in this regard which we would certainly expect, that both sides would respect that and we are certainly acting on our elements and we are on behalf of the UK. Also expect the performance… action on that,” stated the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs.
The Indian High Commission in London on Thursday issued a press release on the Home Secretary’s feedback particularly on the MMP.
The assertion stated, “As part of our wider discussion under Migration and Mobility, the Government … is working with the Government of the UK to facilitate the return of Indian nationals who have spent more than their visa period in the UK. Committed to.”
“As per the data shared with the Home Office, as of now, action has been initiated on all the matters referred to the High Commission. In addition, the UK has also pledged to meet certain commitments as part of the Migration and Mobility Protocol, on which we await demonstrable progress,” it stated.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
