UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi today for India-UK bilateral talks
New Delhi:
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is on a two-day visit to India, will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi today to hold in-depth talks on Britain and India’s strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership, aimed at strengthening the close partnership and enhancing security. Is. Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
Boris Johnson reached Delhi late on Thursday night, where he was received at the airport by Union Minister Rajiv Chandrasekhar.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will attend a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan and later pay floral tributes at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat.
The British Prime Minister will also hold talks with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar. The same afternoon, at around 1 pm, both sides will issue press statements at Hyderabad House.
Prime Minister Johnson arrived in Gujarat on Thursday to begin his two-day visit to India.
The British High Commission said in a statement that during Boris Johnson’s visit, UK and Indian businesses are today going to confirm more than £1 billion in new investment and export deals in areas ranging from software engineering to health, leading to more than £1 billion in export deals across the UK. Around 11,000 jobs will be created.
The investment agenda includes the opening of a new Switch Mobility electric bus R&D center in the UK and their Asia Pacific headquarters in Chennai, creating over 1,000 jobs in the UK in India, plus investments from leading Indian manufacturer Bharat Forge and electric truck maker Teva Motors. is included. In a statement, the British High Commission said it has invested £79 million to expand to a new site in the south-east and create 500 new jobs, and Indian software company Mastek will create 1,600 jobs across the UK over the next three years.
The deals also include business consultancy Firstsource opening new offices in South Wales, the Midlands and cities in the north-east and north-west, Hertfordshire-based firm Smith & Nephew as part of a major export deal to sell robotic surgical systems in India. The British High Commission said Northamptonshire business Scott Bader is opening a new resin factory to supply top renewable energy companies in South-East Asia.
According to the British High Commission, the British PM will also welcome OneWeb, which has signed a historic contract for satellite launch with New Space India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
According to a statement from the British High Commission, Prime Minister Johnson will use the visit to advance progress in free trade agreement (FTA) talks launched earlier this year as a deal with India would bring the UK’s total trade to 28 per cent. It is predicted to increase to £ billion. Increase in income of up to £3 billion annually and across the UK by 2035.
Last year, Prime Minister Johnson and PM Modi agreed on the UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, announcing an investment of over £530 million in the UK and a deepening bilateral ties in trade, health, climate, defense and security. committed to. our people.
India was also identified as a priority relationship for the UK in the 2021 Integrated Review and was invited by the UK as a guest at last year’s G7 in Carbys Bay.
The third round of talks will begin next week and both sides are keen to double bilateral trade by 2030.
The United Kingdom is also looking to increase its footprint in defense production in India.
The start of the British Prime Minister’s visit to India comes amid the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific region and India’s centrality in the region, with the two countries determined to further intensify cooperation across the full spectrum of bilateral relations.
Sources told the Press Trust of India that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is expected to be taken up with Prime Minister Johnson putting forth Britain’s position in the bilateral talks and listening to India’s point of view during the talks.
He said the two sides understand and respect each other’s position on Ukraine and this will be part of the discussion.