British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express his regret over not being able to visit India as planned for the Republic Day on January 26 due to the growing health crisis in the UK created by the new variant of coronavirus. A day before, in a televised address, Johnson plunged the country into a new stay-at-home lockdown.
His medical chiefs warned that the National Health Service (NHS) was under threat of being overwhelmed by the rising infection rates.
Johnson has indicated that his India visit would take place during the first half of this year and before the G7 summit presided over by the UK, planned for later this year.
The two leaders also underlined their “shared commitment” to the bilateral relationship, and to build on the close collaboration between the two countries, including in response to the pandemic, a Downing Street spokesperson said.