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The Prime Minister has insisted he will not \u201csacrifice quality for speed\u201d in his quest to secure a bumper trade deal with India.<\/p>\n
Rishi Sunak called it \u201cvital\u201d that the UK strengthens its relationship with the country but stopped short of setting a timeline for an agreement.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWithout question, India is going to be one of the most significant countries geopolitically over the next years and decades, and it\u2019s vitally important for the UK to deepen our ties particularly economically and more broadly with India, so that\u2019s why we\u2019ve been working towards an ambitious and comprehensive free trade deal, but it\u2019s not a given.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese things are a lot of work and a lot of time. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve never put artificial deadlines on these trade deals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always said we shouldn\u2019t sacrifice quality for speed. And we need to end up with something that works genuinely for both sides.<\/p>\n
READ MORE <\/strong> Ukraine causes ‘outage’ on Rishi Sunak’s plane as internet drops over warzone<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cOf course, every time I see Prime Minister Modi it\u2019s something we check in at, but that\u2019s not the main purpose of this visit and this trip. There\u2019s lots of other things we\u2019re going to be discussing and work on that is ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Sunak and his counterpart in India are set to meet for talks on Saturday at the G20 summit.<\/p>\n London and New Delhi had a \u00a336 billion trading relationship in 2022\/23 but Mr Sunak is set to want to finalise an economy-boosting post-Brexit trade agreement with the country that has a population of 1.4 billion people.<\/p>\n Mr Sunak could also discuss the case of British man Jagtar Singh Johal who is facing the death penalty when he meets Narendra Modi.<\/p>\n More than 70 MPs signed a letter urging the PM to call on Mr Modi to “immediately release” the blogger, 36.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> UK to host global food security summit as Putin continues to hike prices[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n Mr Sunak said: \u201cBoth the Foreign Secretary and actually Foreign Office Ministers have raised this case on multiple occasions with their counterparts. We understand what his family are going through and want to make sure that the process works and that justice is done appropriately as well.\u201c<\/p>\n When asked whether he would be raising the issue directly, he said: \u201cI\u2019ll be raising a range of things with Prime Minister Modi.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is something that, just so people are reassured, has already been raised on multiple levels on multiple occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Johal remains in prison in India six years after being detained.<\/p>\n He faces eight charges of conspiracy to murder, linked to political violence in India. His family say court proceedings have started but been adjourned repeatedly.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/secondary\/4949593.jpg?r=1694165861206\")
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