UK PM cancels India visit again |
Prime Minister of UK Boris Johnson on 19th April called off his planned visit to India later this week because of the mounting Covid-19 cases in India. This is the second time this year that he has deferred a trip to the country due to the pandemic. The UK government had decided last week to reduce the length of Johnson`s visit following discussions with the Indian side. The Indian mission in London had announced the visit was to begin on April 25. A Spokesperson for the UK PM office said, “In the light of the current Coronavirus situation, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not be able to travel to India next week. Instead, Prime Ministers [Narendra] Modi and Johnson will speak later this month to agree and launch their ambitious plans for the future partnership between the UK and India,”. Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the decision to call off the visit was made by mutual agreement. Bagchi said, “The two sides will be holding a virtual meeting in the coming days to launch plans for a transformed India-UK relationship,”. Hours after the announcement, UK Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock told his Parliament the government included India in the “red list” of countries facing travel restrictions. Johnson told reporters in London that he and Modi had “basically come to the conclusion that, very sadly, I won`t be able to go ahead with the trip”. He added, “I do think it`s only sensible to postpone given what`s happening in India – the shape of the pandemic there.” However, he said the UK`s relationship with India is of “huge importance” and that he would hold a virtual meeting with Modi on April 26.
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