Finance
By: Shree1news, 03 DEC 2020
India has invited United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson to be the chief guest for its 2021 Republic Day celebrations on January 26, a number of media houses reported. As per the data, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has himself prolonged the invitation to his UK counterpart throughout a telephonic conversation on November 27.
If Boris Johnson accepts the invitation, it will likely be after a gap of 27 years {that a} UK Prime Minister would be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day next month. John Major was the last British Prime Minister to attend the Republic Day parade in New Delhi in 1993.
There was no official affirmation but from both Indian or the British government on a possible visit by Johnson. However, PM Modi hinted in a tweet on November 27 that India-UK are embarking on an ambitious partnership.
“We agreed to work towards a quantum leap in our cooperation in all areas – trade and investments, defence and security, climate change and fighting Covid-19,” Modi had tweeted.
Normally, guest invitations for Republic Day and their confirmations are sealed by November end. However because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, New Delhi has requested Johnson whether or not he’s keen to journey to India in January amid the pandemic.
Keeping in the mind the surge in Covid-19 cases in United Kingdom, it could be tough for its Prime Minister to commit an international journey which is less than two months from now.
If Johnson confirms his availability and accepts New Delhi’s invitation, he would be the sixth from the UK to visit India’s Republic Day celebrations as chief guest.
Source: A-N
