UK PM Boris Johnson to be chief guest at Republic Day parade

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accepted his Indian counterpart Narendra Modis invitation to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade on January 26 Downing Street said here on Tuesday marking his first major bilateral visit since taking office last year and the first since Britains exit from the European UnionDescribing India as a key player in the IndoPacific region Johnson said on Tuesday that his visit will mark the start of an exciting year for Global Britain and deliver a quantum leap in the bilateral tiesDowning Street said that trade and investment defence and security health and climate change have been identified as some of the priority areas of focus on both sides for the visit in the New YearI am absolutely delighted to be visiting India next year at the start of an exciting year for Global Britain and look forward to delivering the quantum leap in our bilateral relationship that Prime Minister Modi and I have pledged to achieve said JohnsonAs a key player in the IndoPacific region India is an increasingly indispensable partner for the United Kingdom as we work to boost jobs and growth confront shared threats to our security and protect our planet he saidWhile the complete schedule of the visit will be detailed only closer to the time the UK prime minister is confirmed as the chief guest for Republic Day celebrations on January 26 2021 following Modirsquos formal invitation extended to him during a phone call last monthJohnson will be only the second British leader since Indian independence to attend the annual Republic Day parade in New Delhi as Guest of Honour after former prime minister John Major in 1993The announcement comes as UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab embarks on a precursor tour of India to lay the groundwork for the prime ministerial level talksDowning Street said that Johnson had written to Prime Minister Modi not only to accept his invitation but also to invite India to attend the UKrsquos G7 Summit as one of three guest nations alongside South Korea and Australia ndash with a focus on his declared ambition to work with a group of likeminded democracies to advance shared interests and tackle common challengesIn 2021 the UK will host both the G7 Leaders Meeting and COP26 Summits as well as a global education conference aimed at getting girls into school and an event to mark the first meeting of the UN General Assembly in London in 1946The UK and India are described as significant investors and markets for each others economies and according to official data the growing trade and investment relationship is worth around 24 billion pounds a year supporting more than half a million jobsThere are 842 Indian companies in the UK with a combined turnover of 412 billion pounds creating jobs in all corners of the UKThat includes 19500 people employed by Tata Consulting Services at sites including Peterborough Liverpool and Edinburgh around 5700 people in Warrington Derby Cardiff DerryLondonderry and Belfast working for business support firm Firstsource Solutions ndash which is soon to open a new office in Middlesbrough and 1200 people employed by Accord Healthcare Ltd in Newcastle and Barnstaple to manufacture and supply medicines to the National Health Service NHSAs the pharmacy of the world India supplies more than 50 per cent of the worldrsquos vaccines with over a billion doses of the UKrsquos OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine being manufactured at Indias Serum Institute in Pune Downing Street noted in a statementOur countries have cooperated closely throughout the coronavirus outbreak to maintain the flow of medical goods for our citizens The UK has received 11 million face masks and 3 million packets of paracetamol from India during the pandemic and we continue to work together to keep vital supply chains open it saidOfficial statistics show that there are more than 400 British companies in India including those at the forefront of the collaboration to tackle climate changeBesides Downing Street highlighted the IndiaUK partnership is creating jobs and opportunities for UK firms in areas such as renewable energy and electric vehicles as the countries work together to reduce global emissions ahead of next years COP26 Summit in GlasgowKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever