Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday called on Indian companies to strengthen engagement with their UK counterparts to convert opportunities from the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) into sustained business growth. He made the remarks while launching four knowledge reports designed to help businesses maximize the trade pact's benefits.
Minister's Address at Business Plenary
Addressing the "India-UK: Partners in Progress Business Plenary" in London, Goyal emphasized that Indian businesses should deepen partnerships with British firms to translate emerging opportunities under CETA into long-term growth, according to a Ministry of Commerce and Industry release. The plenary brought together leading industry representatives from both nations, who described CETA as a transformative framework for strengthening bilateral trade and investment.
Discussions focused on the agreement's potential to promote long-term investment, technology partnerships, innovation, resilient supply chains, and deeper economic cooperation between India and the United Kingdom.
Launch of Four Knowledge Reports
During the event, Goyal launched four knowledge reports aimed at supporting businesses in leveraging opportunities under the landmark trade agreement. The reports include:
- FICCI's The Evolving India-UK Partnership
- CII's Indian Roots, British Soil: Charting Indian Industry's Footprints in the UK 2026
- UKIBC-HSBC UK-India CETA Utilisation Manual
- CareEdge's Sovereign Ratings - A Fresh Perspective
According to the ministry, the reports are intended to provide businesses with insights and practical guidance for effectively leveraging opportunities under CETA.
Industry Recommendations and Implementation
The deliberations also centered on effective implementation of the agreement. Industry representatives stressed the need to create greater awareness of CETA, particularly among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), simplify regulatory procedures and certification requirements, strengthen industry-to-industry partnerships, and facilitate greater talent mobility so that businesses can fully utilize the opportunities created by the pact.
Representatives from industry also presented recommendations emerging from sector-specific roundtable discussions covering healthcare, advanced manufacturing, clean energy, science and technology, services, and consumer goods. These recommendations highlighted opportunities to expand bilateral collaboration through innovation, investment, and stronger business partnerships.
Meeting on Higher Education Collaboration
Separately, Goyal said in a post on X that he held a productive meeting with Dr. Vishwajeet Rana, Group CEO of GEDU Global Education. The minister discussed ways to further strengthen India-UK collaboration in higher education, skills, and innovation, and exchanged views on leveraging the India-UK CETA to foster stronger industry-academia partnerships and create new opportunities for shared growth between the two countries.
Conclusion of Business Engagements
Following the plenary, Goyal concluded his two-day business engagements in the United Kingdom with an interactive debriefing session with the Indian business delegation. Members of the delegation shared key learnings from their meetings with prospective partners and discussed business opportunities identified across multiple sectors.
The ministry said the engagements reaffirmed the strong momentum behind the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and reflected the shared commitment of both governments and industry to translate the agreement into tangible trade and investment outcomes. The India-UK CETA is scheduled to come into force on July 15, 2026, paving the way for implementation of the trade pact and the tariff concessions agreed upon by both countries.
