NEW DELHI: British Prime Minister Boris johnson He will visit India in January to be the main guest at the Republic Day Parade, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced Tuesday after holding talks with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar.
At a joint press conference after the talks, Jaishankar said the two sides held four hours of discussion on a wide range of issues and focused on how to take bilateral relations to a higher level.
“In recent years, as you know, there have been very important changes in global politics and we both believe that our interests are best served if we work together more effectively,” he said, adding that important issues, including the situation in Afghanistan, as well as events. in the Gulf and the evolution of the Indo-Pacific region.
Jaishankar said that the challenges posed by terrorism and radicalism, which are shared concerns, were also discussed during the talks.
“Prime Minister Boris Johnson has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the G7 summit hosted by the United Kingdom next year. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom also accepted the very generous invitation to attend the Memorial Day celebrations. Republic of India (as the main guest) in January, which is a great honor, “said Raab.
For his part, Jaishankar said that Johnson’s acceptance of the Republic Day invitation was, in a way, a symbol of a new era in Indo-UK relations.
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.
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