New Delhi: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to India on April 25 has been canceled due to the present coronavirus crisis. Instead, he will meet virtually with Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this month to announce their proposals for the future UK-India relationship, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs.
“Due to the current Covid condition, it has been agreed that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will not visit India next week by mutual consent. In the coming days, the two sides will have a virtual meeting to initiate preparations for a changed India-UK partnership. Both leaders place a high priority on realizing the full potential of the India-UK relationship, and they want to keep in close contact in this regard, looking forward to a face-to-face meeting later this year “In response to media inquiries about Mr. Johnson’s visit, Arindam Bagchi, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said.
Mr. Johnson’s office reported last week that the tour would be cut short. It was initially scheduled to take place over three days, beginning on April 26.
With the opposition Labour Party asking why the UK Prime Minister cannot meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi online to negotiate bilateral ties, he had been under increasing pressure ahead of the scheduled visit.
“The Government is telling people don’t travel if you don’t have to absolutely travel and I can’t see why the Prime Minister can’t conduct his business with the Indian government by Zoom. So many of us do that these days and I think the Prime Minister, all of us in public life, need to try and set an example so I’d much rather the Prime Minister did it by Zoom than by traveling to India,” said Labour Party’s Shadow Communities Secretary Steve Reed.
The visit, which had been delayed from a Republic Day tour in January, was to be the British Prime Minister’s first major bilateral visit outside Europe since the UK general election in December 2019 and the completion of the Brexit transition process in December 2020.
The aim of the visit was to improve trade relations, investment, and cooperation in a variety of fields, including defense, stability, health, and climate change.
It was in response to Prime Minister Modi’s invitation, which he received after attending a climate summit hosted by London earlier this year.
