IRIA News

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on a two-day visit to India against the backdrop of war in Ukraine

The British prime minister hopes to entice the Indian administration toward the West and convince Indian Prime Minister Modi’s government to cut off the country’s dependence on Russian oil and gas.  

Johnson arrived in India on April 21 and began his trip from Gujarat, the home state of his Indian counterpart Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“As we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together,” Johnson told reporters prior to his trip to the South Asian nation.

Modi has expressed concerns about the war in Ukraine and urged the international community to solve the issues through dialogue and diplomacy. However, New Delhi’s reluctance to condemn Russia has been agitating the West and led the Western leadership to lobby India in order to change its stance.

India has had good relations with Russia since the Cold War era as it was Russia’s closest ally in the region. India is also one of the top oil importers in the world as the country caters to about 80% of its energy needs through imported oil and gas.

Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and western sanctions, India has increased its oil imports from Russia due to the cheaper prices. Last year, India’s total imports of Russian oil accounted for only 12 million barrels, while this year only in the month of March India’s top oil firm, the Indian Oil, bought 3 million barrels of crude oil from Russia.

As Boris Johnson embarked on his trip to India, Downing Street’s spokesperson stressed that the British Prime Minister has no plans to ‘lecture’ Modi on his neutral stance, but his discussion in the bilateral meeting would rather focus on strengthening security cooperation with India by offering alternative options for defense procurement and energy.

“This visit is not framed on the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Obviously, that is really important but this is a visit we have planned for a very long time. India is an incredibly important partner,” Johnson’s official spokesperson, who is accompanying him to India, told reporters at Downing Street.

Apart from the energy imports, India also relies heavily on Russia for its arms imports. During his meeting with Prime Minister Modi, Boris Johnson indicated that UK and India should look for ‘new and expanding’ defense and security partnership.

Johnson said that Britain supports India’s goal of self-sufficiency in defense manufacturing and especially for developing fighter jets. He also said that Britain would provide India with all necessary support in order to execute such projects. India currently has a mix of Russian, British and French fighter jets.

Besides discussing the geopolitical situation, Boris Johnson’s trip to India is also focused on bolstering the post-Brexit trade and investments between the two countries.

According to the British Prime Minister’s office statement, UK and Indian businesses will confirm more than 1 billion pounds of mutual trade and investments. These investments would explore emerging fields of software, engineering, and health sciences while creating 11,000 new jobs, the statement was made while Johnson was visiting the enterprising city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state.

While Johnson was visiting British heavy equipment developer JCB plant in Vadodara, Gujarat, he perched on a bulldozer which sparked outrage in India as government officials used JCB bulldozers to destroy the homes and businesses of many poor Muslims in several Indian states.

“In the backdrop of Municipal Corporation of Delhi using JCB bulldozers to raze down shops of Muslims in Northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri yesterday, UK Prime Minister’s inauguration of a JCB factory in Gujarat is not only ignorant but his silence on the incident is deafening… These brazen attacks on the right to livelihood and adequate housing of religious minorities in India is an attack on their hopes for a secure future.” Amnesty India posted on Twitter.

“As Indian authorities clamp down on human rights daily, the UK government must not remain a mute bystander. It must bring human rights to the discussion table. India cannot wait another day for justice,” it added.