When asked by TOI in London whether Johnson would raise India’s purchase of discounted Russian oil and India’s voting pattern at the UN, a 10, Downing Street spokesperson said, “This visit is not framed on the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Obviously that is really important, but this is a visit that we have planned for a long time. India is an incredibly important partner. The PM has been wanting to make this trip to build our partnership across trade, investment, security and defence and green energy, so we will be discussing all those issues.”
While saying, “You can absolutely expect it (Ukraine) to be on the agenda, she added, “We won’t be seeking to lecture India or try and persuade them into one position or another. We will be seeking to work with them constructively as an important international partner.”
In New Delhi, a source familiar with the likely agenda for the summit on Saturday told TOI, “Like foreign secretary Elizabeth Truss when she was here, Johnson won’t look to lecture India on Ukraine. An open Indo-Pacific that’s free from coercion will be central to his conversations here.”
Johnson’s Indo-Pacific focus is important for India as the Modi government is concerned that recent developments in Ukraine could shift the attention away from the region, apart from driving Russia into a tighter strategic embrace with China.
Sources also said UK is looking to support India’s defence indigenisation efforts and that there will be discussions on defence-industrial collaboration including technology transfer. Like US President Joe Biden in his recent virtual meeting with Modi, Johnson is expected to discuss ways to reduce India’s reliance on defence procurement from Russia and also enhance India’s energy security.
Sources said Johnson will also call for democracies to work together and discuss ways for them to become more resilient. Johnson, who has been banned from visiting Russia by Moscow, is also expected to brief Modi about his recent visit to Kyiv.
India and UK have completed two rounds of negotiations for a free trade agreement and the talks on Friday are expected to further encourage the ongoing negotiations. Asked about Indian fugitives like Vijay Mallya living in the UK, sources said it was for the judiciary to take a view on such cases. Asked about the activities of pro-Khalistan groups in UK, the source said the county would not allow any activity that’s on the wrong side of the law.
Johnson will begin his India trip on Thursday with a visit to a new factory, university and cultural sites in Gujarat, where he will announce new collaborations in AI and technology. UK and Indian businesses will confirm more than £1 billion in new investments and export deals in areas from software engineering to health, creating almost 11,000 jobs across the UK.
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