London/New Delhi, April 17 : UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be visiting India this week, beginning the visit in Ahmedabad on April 21 where he will meet with leading businesses and is expected to announce major investment in key industries. He will travel to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday April 22 where the two leaders will hold in-depth talks on the bilateral strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership. In a statement, Prime Minister Johnson said: “As we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together. India, as a major economic power and the world’s largest democracy, is a highly valued strategic partner for the UK in these uncertain times. “My visit to India will deliver on the things that really matter to the people of both our nations – from job creation and economic growth, to energy security and defence.” The UK Prime Minister’s Office, in a statement, said that PM Johnson will visit India “to deepen our long-term partnership for peace and prosperity with a fellow leading democracy, in the face of global economic challenges and threats from autocratic states” – in a direct reference to the Ukraine war. In Ahmedabad, the UK PM will meet with leading businesses and discuss the UK and India’s thriving commercial, trade and people links. This will be the first time a UK Prime Minister has visited Gujarat, India’s fifth largest state and the ancestral home of around half of the British-Indian population in the UK. In New Delhi, PM Johnson and PM Modi “will hold in-depth talks on the UK and India’s strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership, aimed at bolstering our close partnership and stepping up security co-operation in the Indo-Pacific”. In Gujarat, the UK Prime Minister “is expected to announce major investment in key industries in both the UK and India, boosting jobs and growth at home, as well as new collaboration on cutting-edge science, health and technology”. “He will use the visit to drive progress in the Free Trade Agreement negotiations launched earlier this year – a deal with India is predicted to boost our total trade by up to pounds 28 billion annually by 2035 and increase incomes across the UK by up to pounds 3 billion.” Last year, the two PMs “agreed on a UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, announcing more than pounds 530 million in investment into the UK and committing to a deeper bilateral relationship across trade, health, climate, defence and security, and connecting our people”. “India was identified as a priority relationship for the UK in the 2021 Integrated Review and was invited by the UK as a guest to last year’s G7 in Carbis Bay”. “The UK is leveraging post-Brexit trade opport ties with India’s growing economy to drive down prices in key commodities for consumers, open opport ties for UK businesses in areas like green tech and services, and create high-wage, high-skill jobs”. “Investment from Indian companies already supports 95,000 jobs across the UK, which is expected to be boosted by upcoming announcements and a future free trade deal”, it said. RN