Boris Johnson landed in India for an official visit focused on trade

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson landed on Thursday in the city of Ahmedabad, in western India, as part of a two-day official visit during which he will meet with his Indian counterpart in order to strengthen trade and security ties.

Welcomed with flowers at the airport and clothed by rows of citizens wearing Indian and United Kingdom flags during his car journey, according to images broadcast on local television, Johnson is scheduled to meet with business leaders today in Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“British and Indian companies will confirm more than one billion pounds (around 1,204 million euros) in new investments and investment agreements today in areas such as computer engineering to health, creating nearly 11,000 jobs in the UK,” Johnson's office said in a statement today.

On his first day in India, before heading to New Delhi tomorrow, the British “premier” will “announce a multitude of trade agreements that mark a new era in trade between the United Kingdom and India.”

According to the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Johnson plans to meet Modi tomorrow in the Indian capital and exchange memoranda of understanding, after paying tribute to “Mahatma” Gandhi, champion of the peace struggle that led to independence from the British Empire in 1947.

On the agenda of the British leader is to promote the bilateral Free Trade Agreement negotiations initiated earlier this year, a British priority after Brexit.

The UK expects the agreement to “double” bilateral trade and investment by 2030, according to Johnson's office, which revealed that negotiating teams will hold a third round of talks next week in India.

(With information from EFE)

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