The PM is aiming to strike a trade deal with the country
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still set to travel to India later this month despite soaring coronavirus case rates and fears of a new variant there. The trip will be shorter than planned, but Downing Street has confirmed that it will definitely go ahead.
Johnson will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he aims to strike a post-Brexit trade deal with the Asian country.
The number of cases India is recording each day is now over 200,000, and there is concern that a new strain of the virus has developed in the country. Understandably, many have questioned why a nation where the virus is clearly out of control hasn’t been placed on the travel red list. Some have wondered whether the decision not to do this is largely down to political influences and motivations.
red list because that could derail his forthcoming official visit there. And if the trip were canned, the EU’s trade talks with India would begin before Johnson’s. “The paranoia and rivalry between UK-EU now extends well beyond vaccines”.
— Robert Peston (@Peston) April 15, 2021
Asked about the trip and whether it would still be going ahead, a spokesperson for Downing Street told a Westminster briefing: “The prime minister’s visit is still happening later this month.
“We have said that the programme will be slightly shorter than it will have been and you can expect the main body of his programme to take place on Monday April 26.
“As you would expect, safety is obviously important and is a priority for us on this trip, which is why we will make sure that all elements of the visit are Covid-secure.”
Addressing the question of why India is not on a travel red list, the Huffington Post reports that Number 10 said the red list is “under constant review”.
The spokesperson said: “We add and remove countries based on the latest scientific data and public health advice from a range of world-leading experts.
“We keep it under constant review and we won’t hesitate to introduce tougher restrictions and add countries if we think it is necessary.”
The new coronavirus variant that was first detected in India has been classed by officials as a “variant under investigation.” Crucially though, this is different to the strains that originated in South Africa and Brazil which were both designated as a “variant of concern.”
