Britain’s Foreign Secretary has insisted during a visit to India that post-Brexit free trade talks have made “major progress” despite negotiators recently missing a deadline.

“We have made great progress in the negotiations and continue to work towards an agreement that works for both countries,” James Cleverly said in an interview with the Times of India published on Sunday.

“We have made it very, very clear that our partnership with India matters to us and that we want to improve and develop further,” he was quoted as saying to the newspaper during the two-day visit.

India and its former colonial ruler have been negotiating a trade deal for around 18 months that would mark an important milestone for Britain as it seeks alternative markets after leaving the European Union.

In exchange for cutting tariffs on British imports like whiskey, India wants more work and study visas for its nationals, in line with similar recent deals between the UK and Australia and New Zealand.

But a target date for an agreement on India’s religious festival of Diwali, which began on October 24, was missed with reports the talks had stalled over fears of Britain’s ruling Conservatives over more immigration.

The Indian government was also angered by comments by Suella Braverman, Britain’s recently reinstated right-wing Home Secretary, that Indians were the largest group of people to have overstayed British visas.

However, Cleverly told the Times that he “feels very positive that so many Indians want to come to the UK and study there, that Indian business people want to do business in the UK. This is a reason to celebrate.”

But he added: “Of course that means that we have to make sure that our processes are right.”

Clever refused to gamble on any expectation that appointing Rishi Sunak, who is of Indian descent, as prime minister could help strengthen ties.

“Nevertheless, it’s nice to see how much excitement and enthusiasm there is around the British Prime Minister here in India,” he told the newspaper.