United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reduced the length of his visit to India at the end of April amid surging COVID-19 cases in the country, news agency Reuters reported on Wednesday, 14 April, quoting the PM's spokesperson.
Johnson will be meeting PM Narendra Modi during the visit and most of the events will be held on 26 April.
"We've been in close contact with the Indian government about the PM's upcoming visit in light of the COVID situation in India. As a result of these discussions, the prime minister has made the decision to reduce the length of the visit... The programme will be focused on high-level discussion with the Indian government and Indian business leaders," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Earlier, Johnson’s office had said that the visit will be part of efforts to boost UK opportunities in the region.
This will be Johnson’s first major international trip after Britain’s exit from the European Union.
Johnson had been scheduled to visit India earlier this year and was slated to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. However, he had later cancelled his trip citing the need to oversee the response to the COVID pandemic in the UK.
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