Prime ministers Narendra Modi and Boris Johnson don't seem destined to host each other.
Modi has cancelled his upcoming June tour to the UK, where he was supposed to be a special invitee at the G7 meeting.
A communique from the government states:"While appreciating the invitation to the Prime Minister by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to attend the G7 Summit as a Special Invitee, given the prevailing COVID situation, it has been decided that the Prime Minister will not attend the G7 Summit in person.”
External affairs minister S Jaishankar's recent tour to the UK for the ministerial meetings ahead of the summit became an embarrassment when two members of his delegation tested positive for Covid 19. While subsequently, it turned out that the reports had falsely shown positivity, the damage was done. The minister conducted the remaining of his engagements virtually.
This is the third time a meeting between the two leaders has got cancelled. Johnson was the chief guest at this year's Republic Day parade, but the UK was at that time going through a severe phase of the pandemic and the visit was cancelled. India had no chief guest at the parade this year.
Johnson had promised to make up for the cancelled tour by visiting India ahead of the G7 summit. However, this time, India is going through a deadly second wave. The two met last week over a virtual summit.
Modi's attendance at the G7 too will be virtual.
The two nations are keen to strengthen ties in the emerging global order. Post-Brexit, the UK is working at consolidating ties with partners. Climate change and a similar vision in the Indo Pacific are the drivers of the new engagements.
Ties between the two are otherwise strong in bilateral trade, education and science partnerships. The UK is also the correct co-chair with India in the newly founded Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, a multilateral organisation headquartered in New Delhi
