India today said it was looking forward to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's visit next month, amid reports that the trip may not be possible because of the rapidly-spreading mutated version of the coronavirus in the UK.
"We had invited the prime minister of the UK as the Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade in 2021. When UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was here, he had publicly confirmed his acceptance. So we look forward to welcoming the prime minister here," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.
He was asked at a media briefing about reports that it may not be possible for Boris Johnson to visit India next month.
UK Foreign Secretary Raab visited India last week ostensibly to prepare ground for Boris Johnson's trip.
"The UK Prime Minister has accepted the very generous invitation to attend India's Republic Day celebrations (as chief guest) in January which is a great honour," Dominic Raab had said at a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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