- Saturday, April 27, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson on Monday (11) reviewed progress on the India-UK Agenda 2030 besides exchanging views on climate action in Glasgow, Scotland, and discussing regional issues, including Afghanistan.
“Was a pleasure to speak to Prime Minister @BorisJohnson. We reviewed progress on the India-UK Agenda 2030, exchanged views on climate action in the context of the forthcoming COP-26 in Glasgow, and shared our assessments on regional issues including Afghanistan,” Modi tweeted after the meeting.
Was a pleasure to speak to Prime Minister @BorisJohnson. We reviewed progress on the India-UK Agenda 2030, exchanged views on climate action in the context of the forthcoming COP-26 in Glasgow, and shared our assessments on regional issues including Afghanistan.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 11, 2021
The Khaleej Times, the UAE, reported a spokesperson in Downing Street saying, “The leaders also talked about the current situation in Afghanistan. They agreed on the need for a coordinated international approach to engagement with the Taliban, emphasising the importance of upholding human rights in the country.”
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During the meeting, Johnson underlined the importance of making solid progress on climate change ahead of and at the COP26 Summit which will take place in Glasgow. He said India leads the world in renewable energy technology and hoped that they will commit to an ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution and to reaching net zero emissions, the Khaleej Times report added.
Modi is slated to take part in the summit which will be held between October 31 and November 12.
Johnson also spoke about the UK-India relationship and welcomed the progress made on the 2030 Roadmap since the two leaders’ meeting in May.
“They discussed the strength of the UK-India relationship and welcomed the progress made on the 2030 Roadmap since it was agreed by the Prime Minister and Prime Minister Modi in May. This includes areas such as trade and defence. The leaders looked forward to the upcoming visit of the UK Carrier Strike Group to India and the deepening of the UK-India strategic partnership,” a Downing Street spokesperson added.
The two leaders also threw light on the shared fight against coronavirus and the importance of opening up international travel with caution.
“The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Modi discussed the shared fight against coronavirus and the importance of cautiously opening up international travel. They agreed the UK’s recognition of Indian vaccine certification is a welcome development to that end,” the spokesperson said.
The two sides also highlighted the UK’s recognition of “Indian vaccine certification” – an issue that caused a diplomatic row between the two countries recently after the UK made it mandatory for Covishield-vaccinated Indians travelling to the UK to serve a compulsory 10-day quarantine. India also made a reciprocal move to make travellers from the UK undergo a mandatory quarantine in India till London decided to change the rule.
“They (Johnson and Modi) agreed the UK’s recognition of Indian vaccine certification is a welcome development to that end,” the spokesperson said.
