UK PM Boris Johnson cancels his coming visit to India, due to worsening COVID conditions
19 Apr 2021 16:06:00
New Delhi, Apr 19: United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson has cancelled his upcoming India visit due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of External Affairs shared the information about his cancellation of the India trip through an official statement.
UK PM Boris Johnson was scheduled to visit India from Apr 25, on his first major visit to a non-European country, since the re-election of the Conservative govt in the UK general elections that were held in Dec 2019. PM Johnson had said in Mar 2021, that he will discuss India and UK's shared vision for a sustainable future and other issues with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his upcoming visit to India.
Also read: Hong Kong suspends all flights connecting it with India from April 20 to May 3
The official MEA Spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi had said in a response to media queries on the upcoming visit of Johnson to India that, "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. 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 British Prime Minister had cancelled his visit to India in Jan this year, due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the UK, where he was invited to take part in Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest. The UK is hosting the G7 summit in June where Prime Minister Modi is a special invitee. COP 26 is also scheduled to take place later in the year in the UK.