NEW DELHI: Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to make it easier to do business with India, seeking to boost trade with the world’s fastest growing major economy ahead of Brexit, but gave little ground on a key visa demand.
In her first bilateral trip outside Europe since taking office in July, May said Britain would not “turn its back on the world” after leaving the EU but emphasised that new economic relationships had to benefit all sides.
“On this visit alone more than one billion pounds of business deals will be signed. And there’s much more we can do,” said May, whose visit is an attempt to get the ball rolling for a future trade deal between the two countries.
The two nations will seek to identify what more can be done to remove barriers to trade and investment, May added after talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
However, she ceded little ground on relaxing rules for Indians seeking British visas — a key demand of New Delhi — saying only that Britain would consider easing the process.
“The UK will consider further improvements to our visa offer if, at the same time, we can step up the speed and volume of returns of Indians with no right to remain,” said May, who as Britain’s home secretary earned a reputation for being tough on immigration.
Anger at levels of immigration from both inside and outside Europe were seen as a crucial factor in the outcome of the June referendum when British voters opted to pull out of the EU.
But there is particular unhappiness in Delhi over visa restrictions on students wanting to stay on in Britain after completing university courses that have led to a 50 percent drop in Indians enrolling.
India’s Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed disappointment over the lack of progress, saying Britain could not afford to appear unwelcoming to Indian talent.
“We have raised our concern very seriously,” said Sitharaman after talks with her British counterpart Liam Fox.
The current visa process “discourages a lot of Indian students from going to the UK.... They prefer any other shore, whether it is (the) US, Australia or New Zealand.”
While the benefits to Britain of a trade deal are evident, sealing one will be no easy task in a country which has been negotiating a free trade agreement with the EU as a whole for the best part of a decade.
Despite their historical ties dating back to the colonial era, trade between the UK and India is relatively low at $14 billion last year — smaller than the volume of trade between India and Germany.
But a British official said before the trip began that May had made India a priority, given the potential offered by its current seven percent growth and its rapidly increasing population which is expected to overtake China’s within a decade.
“On trade, we really want to unlock the potential of the relationship on both sides,” the official told reporters.
“That means looking at how we can lay the groundwork before we leave the EU for breaking down existing barriers to trade that there are.”
India however still has a rigorous regime of tariffs and red tape which has traditionally made it one of the most complex places to do business, even if the potential market is huge.
May, who is accompanied by a delegation of around three dozen business leaders, will travel to the southern tech hub of Bangalore on Tuesday. In Delhi, the two leaders agreed a partnership to help India develop “smart cities,” which are designed to be models of urban planning — one of Modi’s pet projects.
May said Indians traveling on work visas will be allowed to join the “registered travelers scheme,” which allows users to speed through immigration at some borders.
The Indian government will also be able to nominate top executives for the “Great Club” — a bespoke visa service for business travelers first launched in 2013 — she said.
British PM lays groundwork for post-Brexit India trade deal
British PM lays groundwork for post-Brexit India trade deal
G7 countries to release oil reserves as IEA agrees to largest ever market intervention
- IEA recommends release of 400 million barrels
RIYADH: Germany, Japan and Austria will release part of their oil reserves after the International Energy Agency recommended the release of 400 million barrels of oil from stockpiles, the largest such move in IEA history.
In a statement, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said the flow of oil, gas and other commodities through the Strait of Hormuz have all but stopped, leading global energy supply to fall by around 20 percent.
Ahead of the confirmation of the move — a larger intervention than the 182.7 million barrels that were released in 2022 by in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — several countries began setting out plans to bring their reserves into play as countries grapple with soaring crude prices amid the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Birol said: “I can now announce that IEA countries have decided to launch the largest ever release of emergency oil stocks in our agency's history.
“IEA countries will be making 400 million barrels of oil available to the market to offset the supply lost through the effective closure of the strait.
“This is a major action aiming to alleviate the immediate impacts of the disruption in markets.”
Germany’s Economy Minister Katherina Reiche confirmed on Wednesday her government plans to limit petrol price increases at filling stations to once a day and to introduce more stringent antitrust regulation of the sector.
She did not give an exact timing for those measures, but added that the US and Japan would be the largest contributors to the release of the oil reserves.
The US has not confirmed it would do so, but its Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News on Wednesday that “these are the kinds of moments that these reserves are used for.”
The announcements did not stop oil prices rising, with Brent crude up 3.26 percent to $90.66 a barrel at 4:29 p.m Saudi time, and West Texas Intermediate up 3.12 percent to $86.05. Both were some way below the $119 a barrel seen earlier in the week.
“The situation regarding oil supplies is tense, as the Strait of Hormuz is currently virtually impassable,” Germany’s Reiche said.
“We will comply with this request and contribute our share, because Germany stands behind the IEA’s most important principle: mutual solidarity,” Reiche said about the IEA’s request.
According to a statement by Reiche’s ministry, Germany will contribute 2.64 million tonnes of oil. This corresponds to 19.51 million barrels.
Reiche stressed there was no supply shortage in the country, which has a legally mandated reserve of oil and oil products intended to cover 90 days’ demand.
South Korea will release 22.46 million barrels of oil, which represents 5.6 percent of the total IEA ask, the country's industry ministry said.
“The government will consult with the IEA secretariat on details, such as the timing and amount, from the perspective of national interests in accordance with domestic conditions,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said it would continue to coordinate closely with major countries in responding to high oil prices to minimise any domestic impact.
Austrian Economy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer said his country was releasing part of the emergency oil reserve and extending the national strategic gas reserve, adding: “One thing is clear: in a crisis, there must be no crisis winners at the expense of commuters and businesses.”
Acting ahead of the IEA move, G7 member Japan announced plans to release 15 days' worth of private-sector oil reserves and one month's worth of state oil reserves.
“Rather than wait for formal IEA approval of a coordinated international reserve release, Japan will act first to ease global energy market supply and demand, releasing reserves as early as the 16th of this month,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a broadcast statement.
Following a meeting with the IEA on Wednesday, G7 energy ministers said: “In principle, we support the implementation of proactive measures to address the situation, including the use of strategic reserves.”
All IEA member countries are required to keep 90 days’ worth of their nation’s oil use in reserve in case of global disruption.
