India and UK agree on IPRS, ease of doing business and extradition

India and the UK on Monday signed agreements for bilateral cooperation in the field of intellectual property and ease of doing business following delegation-level talks led by prime ministers Narendra Modi and Theresa May in New Delhi.

At the delegation-level talks the two countries decided to continue with their trade dialogue keeping in view the benefits of increased bilateral trade and investment.

The agreement, signed by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the Intellectual Property Office of the United Kingdom (UKIPO), intends to promote innovation, creativity and economic growth in both countries.

During talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the British Prime Minister Theresa May, the two countries  also agreed not to allow fugitives and criminals escape law and resolved to facilitate outstanding extradition requests.

Perhaps, the one tangible outcome of Theresa May's three-day India visit could be an early extradition of industrialist Vijay Mallya from the UK to face probe in the money laundering case against him.

In talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Theresa May, the issue of extradition requests figured and officials dealing with the issue from both sides were directed to meet at the earliest.

Sources said India expects forward movement in Vijay Mallya's extradition from the UK following the talks. They said the specific issue of Mallya's extradition had also figured in the talks between the two sides in the run up to the meeting between Modi and May.

"Advancing business through agreements. The two leaders witness exchange of MoUs in Intellectual Property and Ease of Doing Business," external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

The agreement on IPR establishes a broad and flexible framework through which both countries can exchange best practices and work together on training programmes and technical exchanges to raise awareness on IPRs and better protect intellectual property rights.

Earlier on Monday, Modi and May addressed the India-UK Tech Summit in the capital.

This is Theresa May`s first bilateral visit outside of Europe since she assumed the Prime Minister`s office in July this year.

May`s visit comes a little less than a year after Modi`s visit to Britain in November last year.

May, who arrived here late on Sunday night on a three-day official visit to India, will also visit Bengaluru on Tuesday.

India has asked Britain to hand over 57 wanted people, including Chirstian Michel, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal.

17 extradition requests from Britain are pending with Indian authorities.

During the annual ministerial meeting of India UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) held in New Delhi on Monday, both sides reviewed the progress held in the two existing Joint Working Groups, ie,"Smart Cities" and "Technological Collaboration, Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering". under the aegis of JETCO. The meeting was held in a very conducive atmosphere.

The two sides decided to create a new Joint Working Group on Trade to discuss and resolve trade related issues. 

On the second day of the India-UK Tech Summit, finance minister Arun Jaitley called for UK investments in India's infrastructure while the UK said it was keen on participating in PM Modi's smart cities project.

Both India's finance minister Arun Jaitley and UK's Secretary of State for International Trade and MP Liam Fox recalled the seven-decade relationship between the two nations.