The Telegraph, May 6, John Longworth
Post-Brexit Britain is looking to re-establish itself as a global trading nation. It was ever thus that, east of Suez, China and India shine like jewels, offering huge market opportunities.
China was for centuries closed to the world and had to be prised open for trade by the British, and even in the modern age of opportunities it remains difficult to sell into.
By contrast India was a trading nation full of markets and merchants and became one of the UK’s principle trading partners. In these modern times its growing potential promises a vast opportunity, even more so because it ought to enjoy a trading heritage based on the same rule of law that characterises the CANZUK nations, a system which creates certainty and encourages investment and enterprise.
Boris Johnson’s trip to India was cancelled due to the Covid emergency engulfing the country, but this week he has spoken by phone with Indian PM Narendra Modi, and Trade Secretary Liz Truss has fired the starting gun on a potential UK-India trade deal. Through the accident of history, the ties that bind Britain and India are many and varied.
Click here to read the piece in full.