UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancels his scheduled visit to India amid COVID-19 surge

New Delhi, Apr 19: Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, on Monday cancelled his scheduled visit to India amid the massive coronavirus surge being witnessed in the country. In an announcement, the British PM said that he will not visit India next week as planned.

The decision to cancel Johnson's visit to India has been taken mutually.

"In view of the COVID-19 situation, it has been decided by mutual agreement that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will not visit India next week. The two sides will be holding a virtual meeting in the coming days to launch plans for a transformed India-UK relationship," India's Ministry of External Affairs said.

It can be seen that this is the second time in 2021, the British prime minister's visit to India has either been postponed or cancelled. Johnson was earlier scheduled to visit India in January to be the chief guest at the annual Republic Day parade. However, that visit was put off due to the COVID-19 surge being witnessed in the United Kingdom at that time.