PM Modi holds bilateral talks with British counterpart Boris Johnson

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met his British counterpart Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the COP26 climate summit here and the two leaders discussed cooperation in areas like green hydrogen, renewables and clean technology, economy and defence.

This was the first in-person meeting between Modi and Johnson following the British Prime Minister's twice cancelled visit to India earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The interaction, soon after the opening ceremony of the World Leaders' Summit at COP26, was scheduled to focus on the UK-India climate partnership as well as a review of the 2030 Roadmap for stronger UK-India strategic ties signed by the two leaders during a virtual summit in May this year.

"Marching ahead on Roadmap 2030. PM @narendramodi met UK PM @BorisJohnson in Glasgow today. Congratulated him for successfully organising @COP26. Discussed cooperation in areas like green hydrogen, renewables & clean tech. Also exchanged views on economy, defence, P2P ties, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted soon after the meeting.

According to official sources, the relatively short interaction focussed on exchanging views and taking stock of the bilateral relationship. The issue of security and counter-terrorism, with a likely focus on separatist Khalistani activities in the UK, are likely to have featured during the discussions.

Prime Minister Modi is expected to have reiterated his invitation for Johnson to visit India.

"Both governments remain committed to the implementation of the Roadmap, within prescribed timelines. Accordingly, we are looking to launch negotiations in November 2021 for an Interim Agreement to be signed in March 2022 and eventually a comprehensive agreement, if all goes according to schedule, by November 2022, India's High Commissioner to the UK, Gaitri Issar Kumar, said ahead of the prime ministerial talks.

The Modi-Johnson meet, dubbed an important bilateral of the UK leg of Modi's European tour, was followed by a leader-level COP26 event entitled Action and Solidarity: The Critical Decade, for which the UK had extended a special invitation for Modi to deliver an address on the subject of "adaptation".