NEW DELHI: The negotiations for the proposed India-UK free trade agreement are at an advanced stage, and both sides are working to iron out differences on the remaining issues.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said the negotiations are taking time because “we want” to safeguard India’s interest.

“India should commercially gain out of it and we should also be able to safeguard the interest of our farmers, PLI (production linked incentive) scheme goods. So, we are there to see that the deal is a fair deal,” he told reporters here.

Additional Secretary in the commerce ministryL Satya Srinivas said the talks are at an advanced stage and going on at a “very” high level to iron out differences.

The 14th round of talks started on January 10.

The investment treaty is being negotiated as a separate agreement between India and the UK.

The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to $20.36 billion in 2022-23 from $17.5 billion in 2021-22.