UK PM BORIS JOHNSON TO VISIT INDIA NEXT WEEK

(The Quiver): UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s expected visit next week is seen as long overdue, having been cancelled twice before – first when he was invited as a chief guest for Republic Day celebrations due to a COVID-19 spike in the UK in early 2021 and then cancelled again as a result of the pandemic situation in India around this time last year.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce major investments in key industries in India and push for democracies to stick together in the face of threats from “autocratic states” during his two-day visit to India from April 21.”

The visit will begin from Ahmedabad on Thursday (21st April) to meet with leading businesses and discuss the UK and India’s thriving commercial, trade and people links. This will be the first time a UK Prime Minister will visit Gujarat, India’s fifth-largest state and the ancestral home of around half of the British-Indian population in the UK,” Downing Street said in a statement.

The two leaders will also discuss the strengthening of bilateral ties against the backdrop of the ongoing India-UK Free Trade Agreement negotiations. PM Johnson said, “Investment from Indian companies already supports 95,000 jobs across the UK, which is expected to be boosted by upcoming announcements and a future free trade deal.”