NEW DELHI- Britain hopes to conclude a free trade agreement with New Zealand "very shortly", Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan said on Thursday.

Britain also aims to sign a pact with the 11-country trade bloc known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in the next few years, she added.

"We signed the Australia Free Trade Agreement just before Christmas. I hope to complete New Zealand's very shortly," Trevelyan said in an interview with Reuters.

"They are two important partners in their own right but also strategically very important for us as part of our CPTPP accession."

Trevelyan was speaking in New Delhi where she launched negotiations for a bilateral free trade pact with India, as part of the British government's efforts to boost links with the Indo-Pacific region following its exit from the European Union.

(Reporting by Alasdair Pal Writing by Manoj Kumar Editing by Peter Graff) ((manoj.kumar@thomsonreuters.com; +91(11) 49548029;))