UK-Indonesia Joint Trade Review: second round of discussions

News story

The Department for International Trade and the Indonesian Ministry of Trade held a second round of discussions on 20-21 July 2020

placeholder

Following on from the signing of the Terms of Reference for the Indonesia/UK Joint Trade Review in October 2019, the Department for International Trade and the Indonesian Ministry of Trade held a second round of discussions (virtually) on 20-21 July 2020. The UK’s delegation was led by Director of Bilateral Trade Relations, Cathryn Law and Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific, Natalie Black.

Despite the unprecedented challenges that are faced globally due to the COVID-19 outbreak, both Indonesia and the UK continue to work towards conclusion of the Review. Excellent progress was made at the meeting, with discussions covering a wide range of sectors exploring opportunities for boosting two-way trade and investment as part of our Covid-19 recovery.

In 2019, total trade of goods and services between the UK and ASEAN was at £41.7bn, the highest in ten years. The UK’s total trade with Indonesia was worth £2.9bn in 2019.

Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for the Asia Pacific, Natalie Black CBE said:

I am pleased that our UK-Indonesia joint trade review discussions are progressing so well. Indonesia is a key partner for the UK and we are very keen to further enhance our bilateral trade and investment across a range of key sectors, including professional services, pharmaceuticals, energy, education and technology.

We look forward to closer collaboration between our nations and working together to shape the UK’s dynamic partnership with ASEAN and the Southeast Asia region.

Indonesia is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, a member of the G20 and the largest economy in ASEAN. It is also the fourth most populous country in the world and is predicted to be one of the top five economies globally by 2050.

Published 24 July 2020



Letter from Chloe Smith MP to Gianluca Esposito



UK and India agree to deeper trading relationship

The UK’s International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and India’s Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal agreed to explore opportunities for expanding and deepening our trade relationship. This will include an Enhanced Trade Partnership as the first step on a wider roadmap for a deeper trade partnership, and subject to progress could lead to a future Free Trade Agreement.

The UK’s International Trade Minister Ranil Jayawardena also raised the ambition to remove barriers for businesses across a range of sectors including food and drink, healthcare and life sciences, IT and data, chemicals and services.

Work has been underway to reduce barriers to trade since both countries completed a Joint Trade Review in 2018, and according to industry estimates, progress to date could deliver up to a £250 million annual boost for British businesses. This includes recognition and registration of polyhalite, a multi-nutrient fertiliser mined in the UK, which will enable UK exports and help Indian farmers to increase crop yields while supporting a cleaner, greener and sustainable environment.

At today’s meeting, the UK and India agreed to work towards removing additional barriers, including the existing barrier on British exports of apples and pears to India and supporting Indian and British legal professionals looking to work in each other’s countries.

Trade between the UK and India was worth £24 billion last year alone, and India is now the second largest investor in the UK economy.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said:

My first JETCO with India has been an opportunity to take stock of progress made so far between our countries and look at barriers preventing our trading relationship from reaching its full potential.

India is an incredibly important partner for the UK. As one of the world’s largest economies and democracies, it is a powerhouse that will play a major role in shaping the 21st Century.

Today we agreed to look in detail at a deeper relationship, including resolving market access barriers into each other’s economies. At this stage we want to keep all options on the table, including the possibility of a free trade agreement at some point in the future.

International Trade Minister Ranil Jayawardena also led a business plenary during the JETCO, organised by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC). Ministers spoke with UK and Indian businesses about our shared ambition to deepen our economic and commercial partnership with India.

International Trade Minister Ranil Jayawardena said:

The United Kingdom and India share a strong and enduring bond, strengthened by a modern trading relationship.

It’s clear from today that there are huge opportunities to deepen our relationship with India. We want to knock down existing trade barriers, create more good jobs and encourage innovation between two of the greatest democracies in the world. I’m pleased to see our shared ambition in the spotlight today as we boost our trading relationship.

Notes to Editors

  • The UK-Indian JETCO has been meeting for over 15 years, making it the UK’s longest standing meeting of its kind.
  • British and Indian investments are supporting over half a million jobs in each other’s economies.


Embracing virtual learning on our projects

News story

We’ve published this year’s Project Academy for Sellafield brochure detailing courses on offer at our project academy.

Image of graduating project academy students throwing hats off in the air

Some of our past graduates (image taken pre COVID-19)

The academy is offering virtual classrooms for the new academic year.

Our project academy is a vital part of our ambition to deliver the infrastructure needed to clean up the Sellafield site.

Originally established in 2016, the Project Academy for Sellafield was created to improve project delivery performance and to ensure that we were prepared to deal with new projects and challenges.

Since then the academy has been delivering short courses, professional qualifications and degree programmes to prepare and educate our teams in West Cumbria and Warrington.

This year the team has faced some unprecedented challenges due to coronavirus and with face to face teaching no longer possible, we have worked closely with the University of Cumbria to develop an effective alternative.

Following the hard work of everyone involved, we have started to deliver a number of courses through our virtual classroom with up to 12 participants at a time.

Project Academy courses are highly interactive; participants will take part in a variety of small group activities and have opportunities to discuss and share experiences throughout the course.

The course brochure for 2020/21 has launched this week and there are now over 40 products on offer.

From entry qualifications to those at masters level, there is something suitable for everyone.

Neil Crewdson, Sellafield Ltd’s interim project delivery director, said:

Our industry-leading Project Academy for Sellafield is ultimately supporting our aim of being a top quartile infrastructure delivery organisation, by ensuring we have some of the best training and experiences available for our project management community.

By working closely with local education providers, we can develop sustainable education packages which benefit our organisation, supply chain and local economy.

All of this, alongside our investments in new delivery models will ensure we deliver long term results for the tax payer – ultimately making Sellafield safer, sooner.

Published 24 July 2020



UK and India agree deeper trading relationship at cabinet level summit

  • Both countries agreed to develop a deeper trading relationship. Subject to progress, this could lead to a future Free Trade Agreement.

  • The UK’s new Global Tariff will bring benefits of up to £40m per year for Indian exporters, assuming all duties are levied.

The UK’s International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Minister Piyush Goyal agreed to explore opportunities for expanding and deepening our trade relationship. This will include an Enhanced Trade Partnership as the first step on a wider roadmap for a deeper trade partnership, and subject to progress could lead to a future Free Trade Agreement.

Trade between the UK and India was worth £24 billion last year alone, and India is now the second-largest investor in the UK economy. The UK’s International Trade Minister Ranil Jayawardena also raised the ambition to remove barriers for businesses across a range of sectors including food and drink, healthcare and life sciences, IT and data, chemicals and services.

Work has been underway to reduce barriers to trade since both countries completed a Joint Trade Review in 2018. The UK’s new Global Tariff (UKGT) schedule serves as a ‘building block’ towards an increasingly open trade partnership. Assuming all tariffs are levied, the UKGT could boost trade flows by reducing tariffs on Indian exports by up to £40m per year. Alongside this, UK companies have secured recognition and registration of polyhalite, a multi-nutrient fertiliser mined in the UK, which will enable UK exports and help Indian farmers to increase crop yields while supporting a cleaner, greener and sustainable environment. Increasing investment in each other’s markets is more important than ever as both economies seek to recover from the impact of Covid-19.

At today’s meeting, the UK and India agreed to work towards removing additional barriers, and to work together to ensure both countries maximise the potential of their digital economies including on data regulation and interoperability.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said:

My first JETCO with India has been an opportunity to take stock of progress made so far between our countries and look at barriers preventing our trading relationship from reaching its full potential. India is an incredibly important partner for the UK. As one of the world’s largest economies and democracies, it is a powerhouse that will play a major role in shaping the 21st Century. Today we agreed to look in detail at a framework for a deeper relationship. At this stage we want to keep all options on the table, including the possibility of a free trade agreement as some point in the future.

UK’s International Trade Minister Ranil Jayawardena also led a business plenary during the JETCO, organised by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC). Ministers spoke with UK and Indian businesses about our shared ambition to deepen our economic and commercial partnership with India.

International Trade Minister Ranil Jayawardena said:

The United Kingdom and India share a strong and enduring bond, strengthened by a modern trading relationship. It’s clear from today that there are huge opportunities to deepen our relationship with India. We want to knock down existing trade barriers, create more good jobs and encourage innovation between two of the greatest democracies in the world. I’m pleased to see our shared ambition in the spotlight today as we boost our trading relationship.

Sir Philip Barton, High Commissioner to India, said:

India and the UK are, in PM Modi’s own words, an “unbeatable combination”. That’s particularly true when it comes to trade and investment, where there is huge potential to unlock existing barriers to trade. I look forward to further strengthening our ambitious partnership in coming years to deliver jobs and prosperity for both economies.

  • The UK-Indian JETCO has been meeting for over 15 years, making it the UK’s longest standing meeting of its kind.
  • British and Indian investments are supporting over half-a-million jobs in each other’s economies.
  • There are 842 Indian companies in the UK, employing more than 110,000 people, which together raised almost £41 billion in revenue last financial year. The combined revenue of Indian companies in the UK has grown by 87% in the last five years.
  • Since 2016 Indian firms have raised £11.5 billion in masala, dollar and green bonds on the London Stock Exchange.
  • The UK is the second fastest growing G20 investor in India over the last 10 years, investing over £22 billion and helping create more than 422,000 jobs. In turn, India is now the second-biggest investor in the UK – with 120 new projects and over 5,000 new jobs in 2019-20.

For media queries, please contact:

Sally Hedley, Head of Communications
Press and Communications, British High Commission,
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021. Tel: 24192100

Mail to: BHCMediaDelhi@fco.gov.uk

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, Youtube, Eventbrite and Blogs