Spinning charkha to hopping on bulldozer, Boris Johnson has eventful first day in India

New Delhi, Apr 22: British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson arrived in India to a grand welcome when he landed in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on Thursday.

His first visit was to the Sabarmati Ashram following which he headed to the manufacturing facility of JCB, a British construction equipment firm near Halol.

In the visitor's book at Mahatma Gandhi's ashram, Johnson wrote, " it is an immense privilege to come to the ashram of this extraordinary man and to understand how he mobilised such simple principles of truth and non-violence to change the world for the better." At the ashram, Johnson was also seen spinning the charkha.

Johnson had an eventful day and ensured that there were plenty of photo ops during his Gujarat visit. At the JCB plant he hopped on to a bulldozer, fiddled with the controls and steering before climbing out while smiling for the cameras.

"Honoured to host Boris Johnson, the first UK PM to visit Gujarat, at Adani HQ. Delighted to support climate and sustainability agenda with focus on renewables, green H2 and new energy. Will also work with UK companies to co-create defence and aerospace technologies. #AtmanirbharBharat," industrialist said on Twitter after hosting Johnson.

The British PM also visited the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar. The British High Commission said that PM johnson will use his India visit to boost ties with India. "UK and Indian businesses will confirm more than £1 billion in new investments and export deals today in areas from software engineering to health, creating almost 11,000 jobs across the UK, the statement by the high commission read.

"More than 11,000 new UK jobs will be created through new India trade and investment deals. The UK-India partnership is delivering jobs, growth and opportunity for our people," the office of Boris Johnson tweeted.

While speaking about India's stand on the Ukraine issue, Johnson said that everyone understands India and Russia have historically very different relationships, like Russia and the UK had in the last couple of decades.

"Well, we have already raised the issue of Ukraine with Prime Minister Narendra Modi diplomatically. Actually, they (India) were very strong in condemnation of atrocities in Bucha, Johnson said.