United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit India at the end of April as part of efforts to boost UK opportunities in the region, his office said on Monday, 15 March, reported Reuters.
This will be Johnson’s first major international trip after Britain’s exit from the European Union.
The visit is part of the UK government’s "tilt" in focus towards the Indo-Pacific region as part of its Integrated Review of government policy, as the area represents the geopolitical centre of the world.
Johnson was scheduled to visit India earlier this year and was slated to be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations. However, he later cancelled his trip citing the need to oversee the response to the COVID pandemic in the UK, which is facing renewed concern over the new mutant strain and a rise in cases.
In a statement, PM Johnson had said that it was important for him to remain in the UK so he can focus on the domestic response to the virus.
The statement had further said that PM Johnson hoped to be able to visit India in the first half of 2021, ahead of the UK’s G7 Summit that PM Modi is due to attend as a guest.
In January, a press statement from the UK government had said that Johnson was likely to visit India ahead of the summit.
Highlighting the "growing cooperation" between India and the UK, the press statement had said:
"As 'pharmacy of the world', India already supplies more than 50 percent of the world's vaccines, and the UK and India have worked closely together throughout the pandemic. Our Prime Ministers speak regularly and Prime Minister Johnson has said he will visit India ahead of the G7".
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