Boris Johnson accepts PM Modi’s invitation to be chief guest at R-Day celebrations

New Delhi, Dec 15: The presence of UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson as the chief guest at the Republic Day 2021 would be in a way symbolic of a new era and a new phase of our relationship, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said.

Jaishankar made the comments after holding talks with British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab. He said that the visit comes at a very important time because we are looking at a post-COVID-19 world. We are also looking at a post-Brexit world from the perspective of the United Kingdom. This is the right time for us to hold discussions, he also said.

Earlier Raab said that Johnson has accepted the invitation to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.

The focus on the talks with the British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was on taking Indo-UK ties to a higher level, Jaishankar said.

We reviewed the situation in Afghanistan, developments in the Gulf and Indo-Pacific region, Jaishankar also said. He also said that there were discussions on the challenges posed by radicalisation and terrorism. It is important that India and UK strengthen collaboration to hasten the post-COVID-19 economic recovery, Jaishankar further added.

I am pleased that PM Boris Johnson has invited PM Modi to join the UK-hosted G7 summit next year. UK PM Johnson has also accepted the very generous invitation to attend India's Republic Day celebrations in January, which is a great honour, Raab said.

We look forward to taking the spot in 2021 including the UK's presidency of G7 and also our presidency of UN Climate Change Conference. We welcome India's return to UN Security Council, he further added.