UK PM Boris Johnson Indicates More Visas For Indians For Free Trade Deal, Visits Gujarat On Day 1

Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, is on a 2-day visit to India from today. He landed in Ahmedabad and will spend the first leg of his visit in Gujarat before flying to Delhi tonight to resume his visit on Friday.

The visit is aimed at improving bilateral relations, particularly in the realm of defense and security trade. This follows a virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden, followed by a round of 2+2 ministerial dialogue on April 12^th.

Among the major takeaways from the meeting, Mr. Johnson hinted that the UK would increase visas for Indians in return for a free trade agreement, like the FTA signed with Australia at the beginning of this month. He said to reporters that "I have always been in favour of talented people coming to this country,” and that the UK is short of the required people “to the tune of hundreds of thousand people in our economy, and we need to have a progressive approach and we will”.

Both sides have indicated positive steps towards concluding the FTA by the end of the year, and the first stage of discussions has seen issues on the market access for apples, medical devices, shrimps and legal services being nearly resolved.

Boris Johnson To Visit Sabarmati Ashram, Gautam Adani During Gujarat Leg Of Visit

His visit to Gujarat will include the Sabarmati Ashram, and a meeting with billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani. He will then visit the heavy machinery site of the manufacturer JCB in Vadodara and will proceed towards Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in Gandhinagar.

Boris Johnson At Sabarmati, Garlanding Gandhi Statue 

Honoured to host @BorisJohnson, the first UK PM to visit Gujarat, at Adani HQ. Delighted to support climate & sustainability agenda with focus on renewables, green H2 & new energy. Will also work with UK companies to co-create defence & aerospace technologies. #AtmanirbharBharat pic.twitter.com/IzoRpIV6ns

— Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) April 21, 2022

On the geopolitical front, the regional security cooperation in the Indo-pacific region will be a main concern of the dialogue, along with the UK’s statement by Liz Truss that it will not ‘lecture’ India on its stance on Russia at the UN but will exchange views with New Delhi. The United States, by comparison, has been more forthcoming in its expectations from India especially in context of continuing crude oil and defense purchases from Moscow.