India is not seeking more visas for the UK as part of a free trade deal, its High Commissioner in London has said.
Vikram K Doraiswami stressed that his country wanted Indian companies to be able to move staff to Britain “more easily” as part of an agreement.
But he stressed on Wednesday that Indian firms in the UK were mainly focused on “local hiring” rather than flying in staff.
Both governments are putting renewed focus on a free trade deal between the two countries in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariffs war.
The US president has caused economic mayhem in nations around the world with his wave of tariffs, which wiped trillions off the value of shares, and then his U-turn on higher US import levies for dozens of countries.
Trump has imposed a 10% import levy on the UK, and 27% on India before he backtracked.
Amid the turmoil, India and the UK have stepped up the pace of moves towards a free trade deal. India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman was in London last week for talks with Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
She said New Delhi was actively pursuing trade pacts in response to the US President’s policies. The issue of visas for Indian workers has long been a contentious issue in the negotiations.
But Mr Doraiswami stressed: “Up to now the discourse in the UK is mystifyingly about visas as if that’s part of a free trade deal.
“We are not asking for visas as part of a free trade deal.
“Yes, there is a mobility piece around inter-company transfers, in particular.
“That is a two-way process.”
He added: “There are British companies that have invested in India and there are Indian companies in the UK that have significant investments, nearly 1000 of them.
“Obviously it’s important for companies to be able to move their personnel up and down more easily.
“But fundamentally Indian investment in the UK has been centred around local hiring, it’s not been centred around moving people for short-term jobs here.
“The inter-company transfer piece is typically for about two to three years.”
India’s top diplomat in London also emphasised that a trade deal was “largely a strategic perspective” on the relationship between the two countries rather than specific measures.
He explained: “A trade deal is fundamentally about the opportunity to bring us as two of the six largest economies in the world, long-standing trade and strategic partners, closer together.
“Our pursuit in this trade deal is really about trying to find greater convergence between India and the UK for the long-term trajectory of both of our economies.”
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Ms Sitharaman last week hosted a business roundtable with leaders from the financial and business sectors including Tide, HSBC, Aviva, Vodafone, WNS, and Mizuho International.
A briefing from the trade department heard that 90% of the deal with India had been agreed, with some remaining questions related to whisky, cars and pharmaceuticals.
Mr Doraiswami added: “For us, the continued transformation of India, the target that we have set ourselves of being a developed economy by 2047, the centenary of our independence, will require us to continue to deepen partnerships with partners of choice, like the UK.
“So this is really about convergence around greater economic partnerships...more trade, more investment flows, more technology-based joint ventures...leveraging our respective strengths in science and technology, and our manufacturing base.”
