By Elishya Perera
LONDON (CWBN)_ British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit India in January next year, in a bid to support jobs and investments across the United Kingdom post-Brexit.
The visit is expected to boost cooperation between the two countries in several key areas, including trade and investment, health and climate change, as well as defence and security.
“I am absolutely delighted to be visiting India next year at the start of an exciting year for Global Britain, and look forward to delivering the quantum leap in our bilateral relationship that Prime Minister Modi and I have pledged to achieve,” Johnson said, following the announcement of his first major bilateral visit since taking office last year.
This historical visit underlines the Prime Minister’s commitment to develop the UK’s engagement with the Indo-Pacific region, as Johnson identified the South Asian nation as a “key player” of the region.
“As a key player in the Indo-Pacific region, India is an increasingly indispensable partner for the United Kingdom as we work to boost jobs and growth, confront shared threats to our security and protect our planet,” he noted.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday (Dec 15), the UK and India have a growing trade and investment relationship, which accounts for bilateral trade worth £24 billion a year, and supports more than half a million jobs.
The statement also referred to the significance of the Indian pharmaceutical industry amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. While, over a billion doses of UK’s Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is being manufactured at the Serum Institute of India, the two countries also cooperated closely to ensure continuous flow of medical goods throughout the Coronavirus outbreak, the statement said.
In 2021, UK will be hosting the G7 Leaders’ Meeting, and Johnson invited India to attend the Summit as one of three guest nations alongside Australia and South Korea, and a couple of hours ago, PM Modi’s office in New Delhi announced that the Prime Minister accepted the invitation.
During his meeting with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, earlier today, Modi also conveyed his keenness to receive the British Prime Minister to New Delhi on the occasion of India’s 72nd Republic Day celebrations next year.
Accordingly, Johnson will be only the second British leader to attend India’s annual Republic Day parade as Guest of Honour, since India gained independence in 1947.
