UK PM Johnson to visit India on April 21 to strengthen ties
Darpan News Desk, 20 Apr, 2022 10:45 AM
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will pay an official visit to India from April 21-22. This will be his maiden visit to India as Prime Minister, said the Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday.
During the two-day meet, the British Prime Minister will first land in Ahmedabad on April 21 and then proceed to Delhi.
The ministry statement said, "At the invitation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Rt. Hon'ble Boris Johnson MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will pay an official visit to India from 21-22 April 2022. This will be his maiden visit to India as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom."
During the visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the UK PM are likely to discuss trade, defence and the Ukraine crisis.
"The Prime Ministers will review implementation of the Roadmap 2030 and set their vision for further intensifying cooperation across the full spectrum of bilateral ties. They will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest," said the ministry.
"Prime Minister Johnson will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan and will hold bilateral consultations with the Prime Minister on April 22. Besides official engagements in New Delhi, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will also visit Gujarat on April 21.
"India and the United Kingdom enjoy a long and historical relationship which was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the India-UK Virtual Summit in 2021," said the ministry in a statement.
This is for the first time that the Walled City of Lahore Authority has planned to give a tour of religious places, Gurudwaras and other monuments of the Sikh community in Pakistan to the tourists.
Even before its inauguration, the Kartarpur Corridor has got mired in a dispute with Pakistan unrelenting on making the pilgrimage to one of the holiest Sikh shrines free of any charges.
A group of British Sikhs has appealed to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) leader Fazal-ur Rahman to stop his proposed march and October 31 sit in at Islamabad.
Salahuddin Ayubi, who was mentally challenged, died in police custody last month due to alleged torture after his arrest on charges of stealing money from an ATM. His death sparked outrage across the country.
The three-time former prime minister and supreme leader of the PML-N was shifted to the Services Hospital Lahore late on Monday night after his condition deteriorated.
