By Tony O’Reilly-
Boris Johnson has said he wants to accelerate a post-Brexit trade deal with India, bringing forward his target date for agreement from the end of 2022 to the autumn.
The announcement came after the prime minister indicated a U-turn on immigration visas for thousands of Indians.
He said : ”I have always been in favour of having people coming into this country,” said Mr Johnson. “We have a massive shortage in the UK, not least in experts in IT and programming. We are short to the tune of hundreds of thousands in our economy.
“We need to have a professional approach, but it has got to be controlled.”
Speaking later during a visit to a JCB factory in Gujarati capital Ahmedabad, the PM made clear he is impatient for a deal, which would be the biggest since the UK formally left the EU last year.
“We’re hoping to complete another free trade agreement, with India, by the end of the year, by the autumn.”
India has long planned to make Visas to study, work and settle in the UK a top priority, in order to improve commercial ties. London’s reluctance to open its doors is seen as the principal obstacle to the trade deal, which both sides have previously said they want to conclude by the end of this year.
“I have always been in favour of having people coming into this country,” said Mr Johnson. “We have a massive shortage in the UK, not least in experts in IT and programming. We are short to the tune of hundreds of thousands in our economy.
“We need to have a professional approach, but it has got to be controlled.”
Boris Johnson has said he wants to accelerate a post-Brexit trade deal with India, bringing forward his target date for agreement from the end of 2022 to the autumn.
The announcement came after the prime minister signaled a potential move to break the logjam in talks, by suggesting that he is ready to U-turn on immigration visas for thousands of Indians.
Mr Johnson seemed ready to take a more accommodating line as he travelled to India for a two-day visit, which will include talks with the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, on Friday.
Asked by reporters whether he would have anything to offer Mr Modi on visas, the prime minister immediately made reference to the UK’s need for “hundreds of thousands” of workers with in-demand skills, who are given favoured treatment under the post-Brexit points-based immigration system.
Johnson arrived in western Gujarat where he is scheduled to meet business leaders and take a cultural tour of the historic Ahmedabad city , the ancestral home to half of the Anglo-Indian population in Britain.
He will leave for New Delhi to meet his Indian counterpart on Friday, providing Johnson some respite from the “partygate” controversy over his criminal violation of pandemic lockdown rules.
Johnson will be absent during a parliamentary vote on Thursday into whether he deliberately misled the House of Commons in previously denying any Downing Street rule-breaking — normally a resigning matter.
Downing Street said it would seal two-way investment deals worth more than £1 billion ($1.3 billion), creating almost 11,000 jobs in Britain.
The visit will “deepen the strategic trade, defence and people-to-people ties between our two countries”, Johnson told parliament before flying out of London.
Downing Street said the visit would yield new partnerships on defence, artificial intelligence and green energy, along with investment deals in areas including robotics, electric vehicles and satellite launches.
“Our powerhouse partnership is delivering jobs, growth and opportunities for our people, and it will only go from strength to strength in the coming years,” Johnson added in a statement.
However, London acknowledges that it is some way off clinching a post-Brexit trade deal with Modi’s government, which wants more visas for Indians to work or study in the UK.
Johnson’s spokesman told reporters that Ukraine would feature in summit talks on Friday, adding that the intention was not to “lecture” Modi but to “broaden the (Western) coalition”.