FTA on agenda, UK PM Boris Johnson to visit India next week

New Delhi, April 15

UK Prime Minister Boris Jonson is expected to visit India next week. During the visit, he will lend an air of finality to a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) as well as discuss cooperation in security and defence — sectors in which Britain has not secured a meaty military hardware import order for some time.

As more and more students prefer to study abroad, Johnson will position the UK as an attractive destination despite its stance on immigration, making admissions easier for certain categories of students.

With East Europe, China and Russia turning unattractive for Indian students, Australia, the US and the UK are keen to become even larger destinations for them.

The Ukraine crisis is also expected to be a key point of discussions.

Johnson is also expected to travel to Bengaluru. He had to cancel his trip to India twice over the Covid pandemic. PM Modi also cancelled his visit to the UK for the G7 summit in May 2021 for the same reason.