Delivering his first major address on UK Foreign Policy, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday emphasized the importance of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India that aims to strengthen the domestic economy
London: Delivering his first major address on UK Foreign Policy, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday emphasized the importance of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India that aims to strengthen the domestic economy.
This comes as India and UK are engaged in FTA negotiations, which began in January this year, aiming to advance trade and investment relations between them. Both countries currently have a multi-dimensional strategic partnership and actively engage in bilateral trade.
โBy 2050, the Indo-Pacific will deliver over half of global growthโฆcompared with just a quarter from Europe and North America combined. Thatโs why weโre joining the Trans-Pacific trade deal, the CPTPP, delivering a new FTA with India, and pursuing one with Indonesia,โ Sunak said in his address at the Lord Mayorโs Banquet at Londonโs Guildhall.
On the worldโs second-largest economy, Sunak asserted that the โgolden eraโ between Britain and China is โnow overโ and that it is time to evolve the approach towards China as the country is posing a systemic challenge to UKโs values and interest with its authoritarian rule.
He also criticized the human rights abuses taking place in China while putting forward his stance on foreign policy.
โLetโs be clear, the so-called โgolden eraโ is over, along with the naive idea that trade would lead to social and political reform.
We recognise China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests, a challenge that grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism,โ the UK PM said in his address.
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In his speech, Sunak also extended support to Ukraine saying that the UK stands with the war-ravaged country. He said that Britain is also reinvigorating its European relationships to tackle challenges like security and tackling migration.
The UK Prime Minister also expressed concern over the ongoing protests in China against COVID lockdowns.
Highlighted the recent arrest of the BBC reporter in China, Sunak said that instead of listening to peopleโs concerns, the Chinese government โhas chosen to crack down furtherโ.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Shanghai, where people were being bundled into police cars. Students have also demonstrated at universities in Beijing and Nanjing.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by HW News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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