India, UK evaluating possibility of a trade pact post Brexit: Nirmala Sitharaman

NEW DELHI: Commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said India and the UK are exploring the possibility of a trade agreement following Britain's decision to exit from the European Union.

“Once the process of informal discussions starts, then we get into discussions in detail. They will all fall into a formal framework...whether it is a preferential or a free trade agreement that will be a mutually discussed matter,” Sitharaman said after her meeting with UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skill Sajid Javid.

India’s exports to the UK were $8.8 billion and imports were $5.1billion in 2015-16. However, with Brexit, the minister say that the FTA talks with the EU would be a fresh exercise. “With the EU of course, it shall continue but with recalibrated now that UK is out of EU, so we shall be doing both,” she said.