Rishi Sunak is prepared to debate company visas as a part of a commerce negotiation with India, Downing Street officers have indicated, as he flies to Delhi this weekend hoping to put the groundwork for an settlement later this yr.

Sunak lands in Delhi on Friday for the weekend’s G20 summit of world leaders, however will start his journey with a key assembly with Narendra Modi at which officers say the 2 prime ministers are prone to talk about the delicate topic of the potential commerce deal.

Their international locations have been negotiating a deal for greater than 18 months, and missed a deadline of final October to finish it. Sunak has ruled out finalising a quick-fix settlement prepared for this weekend’s summit, however officers are more and more assured they may be capable of signal one later this yr.

As Sunak seems to be for a breakthrough, Downing Street insisted the UK wouldn’t change its immigration insurance policies to safe a deal. But a spokesperson added that the problem of intra-company transfers might be included.

“The only aspect of the movement of people covered by a [free trade agreement] is business mobility – that’s the temporary movement of business people for specific purposes,” the prime minister’s spokesperson mentioned. They added: “I can’t get into more detail about what’s being discussed, but there are no plans to change our immigration policy to achieve an FTA.”

Downing Street’s language tallies with that of the Indian authorities.

Vikram Doraiswami, the Indian excessive commissioner to the UK, advised Times Radio on Thursday that India was not asking for extra visas, however a simplification of the appliance course of for staff to be transferred between the 2 international locations. “We never said that the visas [themselves] are part of our ask,” he mentioned.

Despite insisting he is not going to change immigration insurance policies to get a deal, Sunak faces potential resistance to any adjustments to the visa regime from his personal MPs, together with the house secretary, Suella Braverman.

Braverman reportedly told Sunak at this week’s cupboard she was sad on the thought of permitting any extra immigration, given the report ranges of internet migration in 2022, when it reached greater than 600,000. Downing Street wouldn’t touch upon the cupboard discussions.

Even if the 2 international locations do attain an settlement on visas nonetheless, there stay different areas of competition, together with mental property protections and guidelines governing the place items could be manufactured to qualify for decrease tariffs.

Officials say they’re nearer than ever to agreeing these factors, however acknowledge it is going to take direct discussions between Sunak and Modi to clear the ultimate hurdles.

Downing Street insists, nonetheless, that commerce is not going to be the principle topic of dialogue in India. Sunak can also be hoping to make use of the summit to push for stronger motion in opposition to Russia, coordinated strikes to carry down international inflation and a few form of settlement on easy methods to regulate applied sciences corresponding to synthetic intelligence.

He will converse twice throughout the summit: as soon as throughout a session targeted on local weather change and once more throughout a dialogue about know-how and innovation.

He can also be prone to have bilateral discussions with world leaders, although it stays unclear whether or not he’ll meet Li Qiang, the Chinese premier, who’s attending instead of the president, Xi Jinping. Asked whether or not the 2 would have a bilateral dialogue, Downing Street mentioned: “There is no set one at this point.”

The journey marks the primary time since he grew to become prime minister that Sunak has travelled to India, the nation the place his grandparents and his spouse had been born. His spouse, Akshata Murty, may even journey with him and the 2 are as a consequence of give prayers on the Akshardham Hindu temple in Delhi throughout the weekend.

Many in India are eagerly awaiting Murty’s arrival, given her standing because the daughter of Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of the multinational IT companies firm Infosys, and one of many nation’s richest tycoons.

However her presence may be an ungainly reminder of the potential battle of curiosity going through Sunak as he tries to barter the commerce deal, given Infosys could be a major beneficiary of any strikes to streamline the intra-company switch regime.

Sunak will meet a small variety of Indian enterprise leaders throughout his journey, however sources indicated his father-in-law wouldn’t be considered one of them.