Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was presented with an award for "Exceptional Leadership in Elevating UK-India Ties" at a ceremony in London, where the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiating teams from both countries were also honoured.
The India Global Forum's (IGF) UK-India Awards 2026 marked its tenth anniversary on Thursday evening with a celebration of the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) set for entry into force on July 15. Goyal was joined on stage by his UK counterpart, Peter Kyle, and IGF founder Manoj Ladwa as he received the special award.
"I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that this will be a success, and this CETA will become a template, will be a role model for many other free trade agreements in the future," said Goyal.
"It's not only about tariffs and rules of origin, it's not only about trade in goods and services, it's about collaborations in technology, in education, culture, the arts. It is focused on bringing the best of both countries to each other.
"It's a fair, equitable, very balanced agreement. We may have fought over every single line, over every single product, but in a spirit of fairness, in a spirit of accommodation, very sensitive to each other's interests and concerns, and therefore I'd like to acknowledge the negotiating teams who over the years have painstakingly put in hours and hours of labour," he said.
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The minister, in the UK for a three-day visit to review the preparedness of both countries for the implementation of the CETA, earlier attended a reception with wide participation from business leaders and investors from both India and the UK.
He highlighted how the agreement will "unlock immense opportunities" for growth and prosperity on both sides, urging the participants to leverage the full potential of the "landmark agreement to deepen collaboration, boost trade and investment flows, and drive innovation across sectors".
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