Tirupur: Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) chairman Dr A Sakthivel was part of the Indian business delegation accompanying Union minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal during his visit to London for UK–India Week 2026.The visit comes ahead of the implementation of the India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Double Contribution Convention (DCC), scheduled to come into effect on July 15, marking a new phase in the bilateral economic partnership.Dr Sakthivel thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for what he termed visionary leadership in strengthening India’s global trade partnerships and expressed gratitude to the commerce and industry minister for his role in concluding the agreement.He congratulated Goyal on being conferred the Exceptional Leadership in Elevating UK–India Ties award, calling it recognition of his contribution to strengthening bilateral economic and strategic relations.During the visit this week, Dr Sakthivel interacted with Peter Kyle, UK secretary of state for business and trade, and discussed enhancing bilateral trade, investment, innovation and industrial collaboration. He said CETA offers significant opportunities for India’s apparel sector through improved market access, enhanced competitiveness and new export growth avenues.Sakthivel said the agreement is expected to boost India’s apparel exports to the UK, strengthen bilateral trade ties and support India’s target of reaching US$100 billion in apparel exports by 2030.EOM
