British Premier Boris Johnson on Thursday arrived in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat on a two-day India visit, a tour expected to give fresh impetus to the proposed bilateral free-trade agreement.
"It’s fantastic to be in India, the world’s largest democracy," Johnson tweeted after his flight landed at the international airport in the city of Ahmedabad this morning.
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"I see vast possibilities for what our great nations can achieve together. Our powerhouse partnership is delivering jobs, growth and opportunity. I look forward to strengthening this partnership in the coming days," he wrote.
From the airport, the British PM went to Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad and tried his hand at spinning the charkha.
"It is an immense privilege to come to the Ashram of this extraordinary man, and to understand how he mobilised such simple principles of truth and non-violence to change the world for the better," he wrote in the visitor's book at the ashram.
On Friday, Johnson is slated to meet PM Modi in Delhi where both the leaders are expected to discuss trade, defence and Indo-Pacific, among other issues.
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Speaking to reporters on the plane on his way to India, the British PM said, "I have always been in favour of talented people coming to this country."
"We are short to the tune of hundreds of thousands of people in our economy and we need to have a progressive approach and we will," he added.