A Passage to India

The visit of U.K. trade secretary Elizabeth Truss to India paves the way for an eventual Free Trade Agreement between the two countries.

- SOURAV MAJUMDAR

THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC has hardly been able to slow down the activity between top government officials of India and the U.K. as they aim to hammer out details of a stronger economic partnership. Even as the virus continues to cause concern in the U.K., and shows signs of being under control in India, there was a flurry of activity in early February with the visit of Elizabeth Truss, the U.K. Secretary of State for International Trade, to India.

During her tour, Truss met several central ministers, including finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, commerce minister Piyush Goyal, and information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, among others. Truss also visited Mumbai and Pune, and had meetings with state government officials, and took a tour of the Serum Institute of India (SII) facility in Pune. SII is a key player in India’s Covid-19 vaccine programme.