Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, arrives in India and is greeted warmly in Ahmedabad, Gujrat.
UK PM Boris Johnson arrived in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad on Thursday for a two-day visit to India, with a focus on expanding Indo-Pacific cooperation, lending momentum to discussions on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two nations and strengthening defence relations.
Johnson’s visit began in Ahmedabad, where he was expected to meet with key business executives and discuss the UK and India’s strong commercial, trade, and people-to-people ties.
This is the first visit by a UK Prime Minister to Gujarat, India’s fifth-largest state and the ancestral home of about half of the UK’s British-Indian community.
Johnson will attend a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Friday morning, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at Mahatma Gandhi’s Samadhi.
The UK Prime Minister will then travel to New Delhi on April 22 to meet Prime Minister Modi, where the leaders will hold in-depth discussions on the UK and India’s strategic defence, diplomatic, and economic partnerships, with the goal of strengthening close cooperation and stepping up security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will also meet with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar.
On the same day, at about 1 p.m., the two parties would release a press statement at Hyderabad House.
The focus is on the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA):
According to a statement issued by the British High Commission, Johnson’s visit will be used to push forward with the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations that began earlier this year, as a deal with India is expected to boost UK total trade by up to 28 billion pounds annually by 2035 and increase incomes across the UK by up to 3 billion pounds.
Last year, Johnson and Prime Minister Modi agreed on a UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, aiming to achieve closer bilateral engagement in commerce, health, environment, defence, and security, as well as linking our people.
India was also designated as a key partnership for the UK in the 2021 Integrated Review, and it was invited as a guest to last year’s G7 in Carbis Bay by the UK.
The third round of talks will resume next week as both parties hope to treble bilateral trade by 2030.
(SOURCE- zee news. India)
