In order to aid in the negotiation of a free trade agreement with India, Britain has no intention of altering its strategy for reducing net migration.
In order to contribute to securing a free trade agreement with India, Britain has no intentions to alter its strategy for lowering net migration, the spokeswoman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Thursday.
Although the remaining issues to be considered are some of the most challenging, there is rising optimism that a free trade agreement between the nations could be finalized this year.
Sunak told his ministers this week that negotiations were moving forward but that he would only accept a strategy that worked for all of Britain. Sunak is traveling to India this weekend for a G20 summit.
As part of trade negotiations, Britain will negotiate short-term business visas, but not longer-term immigration obligations or access to the British labor market for employees from India, according to Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch in June.
“The prime minister thinks that migration numbers are too high right now… For the record, there are no intentions to alter our immigration policies to accomplish this free trade deal, and that goes for student visas as well, a representative for Sunak told journalists.
Suella Braverman, the interior minister, created controversy last year when she made remarks regarding the potential influence of Indian immigrants on trade negotiations. She expressed concern about any “open borders migration policy with India” as well as about people who overstay their visas.
Vikram Doriaswamy, India’s High Commissioner to Britain, countered that while the idea that India wanted additional visas had appeared in British media, it had not appeared in Indian media.
He added on Times Radio, “We never said that the visas are part of our ask,” adding that India was looking for easier ways for businesses to transport citizens of the UK and India back and forth between the two nations.
“We are not requesting that migrants be allowed to enter this country.”
