New Delhi [India], April 23 (ANI): Giving a brief account of his two-day visit to India, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a video message on Saturday said that both the countries share enormous agenda of working together on green technology, defence cooperation and trade deals that will bring growth and prosperity. “We’re coming to the end of a fantastic couple of days here in India and the agenda that we have now together is enormous and it’s incredibly exciting,” Boris Johnson said in a video message that he posted on Twitter.
Talking about the India-UK agenda, Johnson said, “It’s about driving growth and driving prosperity in both our countries, tackling the issues that are our priorities of the British people, above all, getting more high wages, high skilled jobs.” The remarks came hours after he returned to the UK following a two day visit to Gujarat and New Delhi.
Giving an overview of his visit, the UK PM said that India and the UK are working together on clean, green technology, from wind farms to hydrogen. “We’ve got a massive agenda on defence and security and of course we want to get our free trade deal, a new UK-India free trade deal done by October, by Diwali,” Johnson said.
The British PM also highlighted that during the course of his visit, “deals worth a billion pounds” were signed which would bring about 11,000 new jobs in the UK. “The UK and India share a deep relationship and we are working as closely as ever. I am filled with optimism about the years ahead, and the security and prosperity that our partnership can deliver for generations to come,” Johnson said in the tweet accompanying the video message.
Boris Johnson’s two-day visit to India concluded on Friday evening. Johnson visited Gujarat where he met Industrialist Gautam Adani and then proceeded to the national capital and held high-level engagements including bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House.
The two countries signed a number of agreements including two government-to-government Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) on the Nuclear Energy Partnership and Global Innovation Partnership. In addition, the two countries also announced cooperation in the defence sector, including in the jet engine development, as well as the setting up of more British defence industries in India. (ANI)
India, UK ask Taliban to allow girls to return to secondary school
New Delhi [India], April 23 (ANI): India and UK have expressed their serious concern about the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, violations of human rights and the hampered access of girls and women to education, a joint statement said after the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Boris Johnson. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said both Prime Ministers called on the Taliban to allow girls to return to secondary school.
“On Afghanistan, both sides expressed their serious concern about the humanitarian situation, violations of human rights and the hampered access of girls and women to education. Both Prime Ministers called on the Taliban to allow girls to return to secondary school,” the joint statement read. Prime Minister Modi acknowledged the role of the UK in co-hosting the UN Afghanistan Conference for the humanitarian response on March 31.
According to the statement, Johnson acknowledged the role played by India in providing medical and food grain assistance to the people of Afghanistan. “The Leaders reaffirmed the importance of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2593 (2021) which unequivocally demands that Afghan territory not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing terrorist acts and called for concerted action against all terrorist groups, including those sanctioned by the UNSC,” the statement read.
Both sides agreed to continue to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan and reiterated the need for a representative and inclusive political system in support of a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan.
In the joint statement, both leaders also reiterated their commitment to transform defence and security cooperation as a key pillar of the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and enhance engagements in support of a free, open and secure Indo Pacific. They agreed to deepen co-operation, including by quickly resolving legacy issues and intensifying cooperation as trusted partners under the India-UK Defence and International Security Partnership framework. (ANI)
