UK PM Johnson likely to visit Chennai during upcoming India visit in April

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be travelling to India at the end of April in what would be his first major overseas visit following Brexit, his office had said earlier.

PM Johnson, during his upcoming India visit in April, is also expected to travel to Chennai. Johnson will be arriving in India on April 26.

It is learnt from reliable sources that Johnson's visit to Chennai has been finalised and his schedule for Tamil Nadu is being worked on, according to a PTI report. It is also learnt that very soon advance teams from the UK will reach Chennai.

Recently, addressing the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI 2021), Johnson had lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership in areas such as renewable energy in the global fight against climate change.

"We have a shared vision for a sustainable future for our nations and the global community - and I very much look forward to discussing this and many other issues with Prime Minister Modi on my upcoming visit to India," Johnson said on Wednesday.

There is no official announcement on the date of his visit to India and the contours of the visit are still being worked out.

Johnson's office made an announcement of his India trip as it unveiled the “Integrated Review” of its security, defence, development and foreign policy where it set out a “tilt to the Indo-Pacific”.

Johnson was forced to cancel his trip to India as the chief guest of the Republic Day celebrations in January following a surge in Covid-19 cases in the UK, and had then promised to visit India before the G-7 summit in the UK in June. He has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G-7 summit.

He recently announced that Britain would "tilt" its focus towards the Indo-Pacific region as part of its integrated review of government policy for the coming years.

India is a high priority for the UK. This is borne by the fact that India will be the first country to be visited by Johnson after Britain's exit from the European Union, a source familiar with developments said.

UK is hosting the G7 summit in June where Prime Minister Modi is a special invitee. COP 26 will also take place later this year in the UK.

With agency inputs