British Prime Minister Boris Johnson accepted India’s “very generous” invitation to be a member of the Republic Day next month’s festivities in Delhi, UK Foreign Secretary said today, calling it a great honour” This will be Boris Johnson’s “first major bilateral visit” since he took office last year said his office.
“I am absolutely delighted to be visiting India next year at the start of an exciting year for Global Britain, and look forward to delivering the quantum leap in our bilateral relationship that Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and I have pledged to achieve,” the British PM said in a statement.
He is just the second British leader since the independence of India to attend the Republic Day parade in Delhi as a guest of honour after John Major in 1993.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said that his attendance at the annual celebrations “would be in a way symbolic of a new era, and a new phase of India-UK ties”
Boris Johnson also invited PM Modi to attend the G7 summit next year in Britain, United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said; India will be one of the three host countries. Mr Raab made a four-day visit to India to Delhi this morning and was received by the Foreign Minister.
“I am delighted that Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed PM Modi to join the UK-hosted G7 summit next year The British Prime Minister has declined a rather gracious invitation to attend the Indian Republic Day celebrations in January.
“The UK Foreign Secretary comes at a very important time because we are looking at a post-COVID world and also looking at a post-Brexit world from the perspective of the UK. This is the right time for us to hold discussions,” S Jaishankar said on Dominic Raab’s visit.
