On Johnson’s first visit to New Delhi after entering office in 2019, Modi speaks with him.

The UK and India have agreed to increase defence and business collaboration, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying that a bilateral free-trade agreement might be completed by October this year.

Johnson met with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on his first visit to the Indian capital since taking office in 2019, to discuss ways to strengthen security ties between London and New Delhi, which buys more than half of its military hardware from Russia.

“We had excellent talks that have deepened our connection in every aspect,” Johnson said at the end of his two-day trip at a joint news conference with Modi on Friday.

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“We have agreed to a new and extended defence and security relationship, a decades-long commitment that will not only strengthen our ties, but also help your ambition of ‘Make in India,'” he added, alluding to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s domestic manufacturing push.

Johnson’s visit, which coincided with India’s 75th anniversary of independence, was welcomed by Modi as “historic.”

“We addressed a number of regional and international topics, emphasising the importance of a free, open, inclusive, and rule-based Indo-Pacific order,” he said.