British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to be the main guest at the Indian Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2021 in New Delhi, the Foreign Secretary reported Tuesday. from the UK, Dominic Raab.
“British Prime Minister Johnson also accepted the very generous invitation to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations in January, which is a great honor,” said the British Foreign Secretary.
With this, Johnson becomes the second UK Prime Minister to attend the event after John Major in 1993.
For his part, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said Johnson’s acceptance of the invitation for Republic Day was, in a way, a symbol of a new era in Indo-UK ties. .
Along with that, Raab also added that Johnson has invited Prime Minister Modi to join the G7 summit hosted by the UK next year.
Raab’s three-day visit to India from December 14-17 comes at a time when the UK is in complex negotiations with the European Union to reach a post-Brexit trade deal.
Post-Brexit, the UK has been looking to increase trade with leading economies like India. There have been fears that its separation from the European Union without a trade deal could severely cripple its financial markets and have long-term implications for its economy.
The British Foreign Secretary will meet with the Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and the Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal.
Raab will also travel to Bangalore, where he will meet with Karnataka’s Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on December 17.
The development comes alongside news that Johnson will travel to India in January, his first bilateral visit since taking office, to try to strengthen trade and investment ties and work together to address climate change, his office said.
Since leaving the European Union in January, Johnson has wanted to promote what he calls “global Britain”, hoping to boost ties with more distant countries and attract new foreign investment to a country badly hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic .
“I am absolutely delighted to visit India next year at the start of an exciting year for the global UK, and I look forward to taking the quantum leap in our bilateral relationship that Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and I have committed to achieving.” Johnson said in a statement.
“As a key player in the Indo-Pacific region, India is an increasingly indispensable partner for the UK as we work to boost jobs and growth, tackle shared threats to our security and protect our planet.”
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