Amid Covid second wave, Boris Johnson’s India visit put off, to hold virtual meeting with PM Modi

Johnson was scheduled to come to India on April 25-26 as part of a planned itinerary, which was expected to launch “plans for a transformed India-UK relationship”

'UK panel's race report fails to recognise institutional discrimination against Sikhs'

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson

As the second surge of the Covid-19 continues to peak, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to India has been put off, the Ministry of External Affairs Monday said. Johnson was scheduled to come to India on April 25-26.

Announcing this, MEA official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “In view of the prevailing Covid situation, it has been decided by mutual agreement that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will not visit India next week.”

He said the two sides will be holding a virtual meeting in the coming days to launch “plans for a transformed India-UK relationship”.

“Both leaders attach the highest importance to taking the India-UK partnership to its fullest potential and propose to remain in close touch in this regard and look forward to an in-person meeting later in the year,” the MEA spokesperson said.

Last month, the British PM’s office had announced that Johnson will travel to India at the end of April in what would be his first major overseas visit following Brexit.

This is the second time Johnson has had to cancel his India trip this year.

Earlier, the British PM was forced to cancel his trip as the chief guest of the Republic Day celebrations in January this year following a surge in Covid-19 cases in the UK, and had then promised to visit India before the G-7 summit in June. He has also invited PM Narendra Modi for the G-7 summit in the UK.

Shubhajit Roy

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
Boris Johnson