Prime Minister Narendra Modi has formally invited British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to be the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations on 26 January 2021. The invitation was extended by PM Modi to his British counterpart during their phone conversation on 27 November, sources said.
If Johnson accepts the invitation, it will be after a gap of 27 years that a British Prime Minister will be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations. John Major was the last British PM to attend the Republic Day parade in New Delhi in 1993.
The government is yet to confirm Johnson’s visit. However, PM Modi hinted in a tweet on 27 November that India and the 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,” PM Modi had tweeted.
The invitation from PM Modi is tactical and timely as the transition period for Brexit ends on 31 December and it’s almost certain that the UK will go for a ‘hard Brexit’—a clean break from Europe which will entail Britain giving up membership of the EU’s single market, allowing it to trade freely with EU members without restrictions.
The hard Brexit is likely to disrupt Britain’s economy, which even after four years of the Brexit vote, is for most practical purposes still functioning as part of the EU. To reduce the adverse effects of the economic disruption, the UK has been looking for trading opportunities elsewhere. PM Johnson has offered a free trade agreement with India, given its huge market.
WITH IANS INPUTS