India trade deal: How new way of doing business bore fruit for UK

Keir Starmer and Narendra Modi will sign their £4.8bn trade deal this morning, concluding three and a half years of negotiations and opening up trade routes between the UK and India in cars, whisky, clothing and food.

- Eleni Courea

For the UK, the agreement promises a much-needed economic boost and serves as proof that the country can be nimble on the international stage after Brexit.

For India, it acts as a signal that its £3tn economy is opening up. India's average tariff rate is 13%, compared with the UK's 1.5%.

Labour ministers clinched the deal within 10 months of entering government, defying expectations – above all their own – about how quickly it could be done. Talks were led by Jonathan Reynolds, the trade secretary, and his Indian counterpart, Piyush Goyal.

Half a dozen UK officials and aides said the rapport between them and a focus on building trust were critical. That sometimes happened in creative ways. After Goyal told them he was a huge fan of Yes Minister, British negotiators gave him a handwritten note from the show's co-creator Jonathan Lynn. "Negotiating with India is not the same as negotiating, say, with Australia, or the USA, or Canada. It's a relationship-based system, very much about who gets on with who and ensuring that you don't insult anyone in any way," said one senior UK official.

This meant a central task for British diplomats in India was to provide UK ministers and officials with something akin to relationship counselling advice on dealing with their Indian counterparts.