Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, April 22: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday stressed the importance of increasing India-UK collaboration, citing a shared interest in maintaining the Indo-Pacific area free and open, especially in the face of increased risks of autocratic coercion.
“We’re taking forward an ambitious ten-year roadmap for British-Indian relations that we agreed on last year, it was great to see you (PM Modi) at the G-7,” Johnson said at Hyderabad House.
“Threat of autocratic coercion has grown even further and it’s therefore vital that we deepen our cooperation including our shared interest in keeping the Indo-Pacific open and free,” he added.
Talking about his talks with PM Modi, he said that “We have had wonderful talks today and have strengthened our relationship in every way. The partnership between India and Britain is one of the defining friendships of our time.”
He also appreciated the Covid vaccination program of India. According to Johnson, the UK is considering adopting an open general export licence for India, which would reduce bureaucracy and delivery timelines for defence acquisition.
“We’ve committed to cooperate together to meet emerging challenges spanning land, sea, air, space, and cyber, including cooperating on new fighter jet technology, and marine technologies to detect and respond to attacks,” he added, emphasising the need of joining hands with India in combating threats.
#WATCH | Of course, we have these conversations (on human rights or democratic values). The advantage of our friendship is that we can have them in a friendly way….It's very important to realise that India has constitutional protections for communities: UK PM Boris Johnson pic.twitter.com/COe8FcPh4D
— ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2022
He also mentioned that India and the United Kingdom are working together on a malaria vaccine and antibiotic resistance, as well as a digital cooperation between the Indian National Health Authority and the National Health Service in the United Kingdom (NHS).
According to Johnson, the two countries’ relationship is stronger than it has ever been. He went on to say that both countries are working together to improve energy security by reducing our reliance on imported fuels and adopting cheaper, more sustainable, indigenous alternatives.
