Afp, London

Britain and India will begin formal free trade deal talks later this year, the UK government said Tuesday, after they agreed an initial package to boost bilateral trade and investment.

With its massive population and growing economy, India has been high on London’s list of trade deal targets since Britain left the European Union last year.

Under a post-Brexit “Global Britain” strategy, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is pivoting its foreign policy priorities towards the Asia-Pacific region, signing trade deals with countries including Japan and Singapore.

UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said India and Britain would start negotiations on an agreement “in the autumn”, following the announcement of a preliminary “Enhanced Trade Partnership” deal.

“We want to get these negotiations completed as soon as possible,” she told Sky News during a round of broadcast interviews touting the partnership package worth 1b ($1.4b, 1.2 b euros).

“Of course, FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) take longer, this is the immediate gains that we can get for both countries, driving jobs here in Britain and in India,” Truss added.

She said both countries were looking for “early wins” reducing barriers to trade from an FTA, noting Britain wants tariffs lowered or removed on various exports to India, from cars to whiskey.

The comments come ahead of virtual talks between Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi later on Tuesday. That follows Johnson postponing for a second time an official visit to India last month, due to the worsening coronavirus situation there.