British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to visit India later this month. News agency PTI quoted official sources as saying that Johnson may come here to strengthen ties between the two countries due to the talks of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement.
The tour, which is expected to begin around April 22, has been on hold for long, as Johnson was forced to cancel his trip to India twice last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, Downing Street has yet to officially confirm the tour. Last month, there were talks between Johnson and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on holding a personal meeting during a phone call.
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The two leaders then welcomed the strong and growing relationship between India and the UK and agreed to continue the trade, security and trade ties in the coming weeks and months.
A Downing Street spokesperson said in a readout on 22 March, “During this conversation, the two leaders looked forward to meeting face-to-face at the earliest opportunity.”
Boris ‘very eager’ to talk to PM Modi
Downing Street sources told PTI last week that Johnson is “very eager” to come to India for talks with Modi. However, there is no concrete plan for it yet.
The two leaders met in person on the sidelines of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November last year. Their bilateral talks during the summit of world leaders focused on the review of the India-UK climate partnership as well as the 2030 roadmap, which they signed during a virtual summit in May 2021.
The roadmap, part of Britain’s so-called Indo-Pacific foreign policy stance, aims to at least double the bilateral trade between India and the UK by 2030.