Boris Johnson's India visit strengthens New Delhi's position in geopolitics
- Alen george
- Apr 20, 2022
- 2 min read
India stands at a global crossroads at a time of heightened tension between Russia and the West
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to India during the Ukraine war is aimed at doubling two-way trade, cementing what Mr Johnson has called a “strategic” partnership amid a growing rift between the West and Russia.
His two-day visit on Thursday comes at a time when New Delhi has hedged its geopolitical position, keeping ties with Cold War strategic partner Russia despite growing pressure from the West.
“PM Boris Johnson’s visit to New Delhi signifies the importance of India’s role in the dynamically changing global order,” B Rahul Kamath, a research assistant with Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation’s Strategic Studies programme, told The National.
It marks his first visit to the historic partner country after his planned trips to New Delhi last January and later in April were cancelled. This was due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases triggered by the Delta variant.
Mr Johnson is scheduled to arrive in the western Gujarat state — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state — where he is expected to interact with local businessmen and announce new health, science and technology projects.
He will also tour the historic city of Ahmedabad, the ancestral home of around half of the Anglo-Indian population in Britain.
He is then expected to travel to the capital New Delhi on Friday and hold “in-depth talks” with Mr Modi on the UK and India’s strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership.
Ukraine war agenda
The prime ministers will discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, which has been under attack from Russia since February 24.
Before his trip, Mr Johnson called India a “highly valued strategic partner for the UK” at a time when “we are facing threats to peace and prosperity from autocratic states,” in an apparent reference to Russia.
“It is vital that democracies and friends stick together,” Mr Johnson tweeted last week.
Mr Johnson is the latest high-ranking dignitary to visit India after a number of Western diplomats visited New Delhi as the South Asian country walks a tightrope of diplomacy over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Last month, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss visited New Delhi to boost bilateral cooperation and urge India to shun its dependence on Russia.
India has refused to condemn its Cold War ally Moscow and has repeatedly abstained from West-backed resolutions that censured Russia at the UN.
Moscow is New Delhi’s biggest arms supplier and the two countries have increased energy trade in recent weeks, despite crippling economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the West and Asian allies Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.
The two nations are also working on a financial plan to bypass global dollar trade through their rupee-rouble mechanism.
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