New Delhi: India has invited Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson as the chief guest for Republic Day celebrations in 2021. The invite was extended during the telephonic conversation that took place between the two sides on November 27, sources have told India Today TV.

After the telephonic exchange, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet had said, "Had an excellent discussion with my friend, UK PM Boris Johnson on an ambitious roadmap for India-UK ties in the next decade. We agreed to work towards a quantum leap in our cooperation in all areas - trade and investment, defence and security, climate change, and fighting Covid-19." Responding to PM Modi`s tweet, the UK Prime Minister thanked him and tweeted, "Thank you @narendramodi, great to speak to you. I`m very much looking forward to deepening and strengthening the UK-India relationship in 2021 and beyond!"

While there is no official confirmation or announcement of the invitation extended by India, the timing is important since PM Modi is likely to visit London next year to attend the G-7 summit for which the British premier had extended him an invitation. A proposal to include India and expand the G-7 grouping came from US President Donald Trump when he invited PM Modi to attend the G-7 meeting this year.  During the telephonic conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi in June this year, the former "conveyed his desire to expand the ambit of the grouping beyond the existing membership, to include other important countries, including India," said a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The decision to expand the grouping, however, cannot be taken by the US alone. Other members such as the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada, have to not only agree to Trump`s proposal to expand the grouping but also on the new members that he wants to add. Meanwhile, a formal response from 10 Downing Street on the invitation extended by India for the Republic Day celebrations is yet to come. "The leaders reiterated their shared desire to impart a quantum jump to the India-UK partnership in the post-Covid, post-Brexit era, and agreed that there was tremendous potential for enhancing collaboration in trade and investment, scientific research, mobility of professionals and students, and defence and security," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said in a statement on the phone conversation that took place between the prime ministers of the two sides on November 27.

Earlier in November, acting British High Commissioner to India Jan Thompson, in a media interaction had alluded to an "in-person" visit to India by the British premier. "We are expecting UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will be paying an in-person visit to India in the next few months. Beyond that, PM Boris Johnson is very very keen to come to India. So we hope, over the next few months, we will visit, by both FS Raab and PM Johnson," Thompson said. Meanwhile, British High Commission Spokesperson said that the mission can not confirm the news. "We can`t confirm one way or other. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is keen to visit India as soon as possible," ANI quoted the official as saying.

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