New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal will visit Britain on Thursday to hold discussions with the UK government and businesses on the progress made in the negotiations of the proposed free trade agreement between the two countries, an official statement said on Wednesday.

During the Summit meeting between prime ministers of India and the UK, the two leaders had set the timeline of Diwali 2022 for finalisation of the FTA (Free Trade Agreement) between the two countries.

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"In his next leg of the two-day tour, Shri Goyal is reaching the UK tomorrow, where he will hold discussions with the UK government and businesses on the progress made in FTA negotiations and the way forward," the commerce ministry said in a statement.

It also said that Goyal, who led the team India at World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos from May 23-25, finished his trip with several high-level engagements aimed at projecting India as a reliable partner, a stable economy and an attractive investment destination.

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The minister held several meetings, including with Khalid Al- Falih, Minister of Investment, Saudi Arabia, Secretary General of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Nayef Al Hajraf, CEOs of DP World Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, and Khaldoon Al Mubarak, CEO and MD, Mubadala Investment Company, to take stock of the existing trade and investment relations, it added.

Goyal also met business leaders, including Arvind Krishna, CEO IBM; Alexander R Wynaendts, Chairman-elect, Deutsche Bank; Bill Winters, Group CEO, Standard Chartered Bank; Bruce Flatt, CEO, Brookfield Asset Management Inc; Pat Gelsinger, CEO, Intel; Alan Jope, CEO, Unilever; and Benoit Bazin, CEO, Saint Gobain.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)