Boris Johnson begins a two-day visit to India and will meet PM Modi on Apr 22
April 21, 2022, 7:48 am

Boris Johnson begins a two-day visit to India and will meet PM Modi on Apr 22

Boris Johnson-UK Prime Minister/Official Facebook page

The First Post news website reported, according to sources familiar with the development, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's two-day visit to India from Thursday is expected to give a fresh push to the proposed free trade agreement, boost cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and enhance defence ties, and he will not lecture New Delhi on how to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The British prime minister is scheduled to arrive in Ahmedabad on Thursday morning on a two-day visit to India. After a series of engagements in Gujarat throughout the day, he will leave for Delhi in the evening.

Sources on Wednesday (Apr 20), a major focus of Johnson's talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on the situation in the Indo-Pacific as the UK is strongly opposed to any kind of coercion in the region.

They said the UK was ready to extend its cooperation in realising Modi's vision of making India a hub for defence manufacturing and that the country was ready for the transfer of technologies for joint production of military hardware.

On the India-UK free trade agreement, they said Johnson's visit will be a staging point for the next round of negotiations that are slated for next week.

Humayun tomb monument in New Delhi, India (Photo: India)

According to sources, the talks between Modi and Johnson are expected to further encourage the negotiations by the two sides for an ambitious free trade agreement between the two countries.

Both sides are making efforts to conclude the negotiations by end of this year.

They said issues relating to market access for apples, medical devices, shrimps and legal services have been almost resolved, describing it as good signs for the next stage of discussions.

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The aim is to have something long-lasting for the next 25 years, said one of the people while emphasising the importance the UK attaches to its ties with India.

The India-UK relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the India-UK virtual summit held between Modi and Johnson in May last year.

At the summit, the two sides adopted a 10-year-roadmap to expand ties in the key areas of trade and economy, defence and security, climate change and people-to-people connections, among others.

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The First Post noted that Boris Johnson and Modi will hold extensive talks in Delhi on Friday (Apr 22).

Source: firstpost

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.