Boris Johnson has announced a string of investment and export deals with India as he embarks on a two-day trip to the country.
He will discuss trade and security relations with his counterpart Narendra Modi on Friday in India’s capital New Delhi.
Meanwhile, MPs in Westminster will decide whether to investigate Mr Johnson for lockdown parties in No 10.
The government wants to postpone a vote on an investigation into whether the prime minister misled MPs.
Labor is seeking a referral of the Prime Minister to the Privileges Committee to investigate whether he misled the House over his testimony about the illegal events – a resignation offense in the Ministers Code.
But the government wants to delay any decision with its own proposal, saying the vote on whether to open the inquiry should wait until the Met Police and Officer Sue Gray have completed their investigation.
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Mr Johnson arrived in Gujarat, India’s fifth largest state, on Thursday – his first major trip to the country as prime minister after previous visits were postponed because of Covid.
The deals he announced will be cross-industry, from software development to healthcare, as well as a collaboration on satellite launches.
They are said to be worth £1 billion to the UK economy, promising 11,000 jobs in the UK as a result.
But the prime minister will also use the visit to push for a post-Brexit free trade deal with India, with a new round of negotiations set to begin in the country next week.
Difficult talks over invading Ukraine are also likely given India’s strong ties with Russia.
The country has not directly criticized Russia since its invasion and did not join in condemning it during a United Nations vote on the issue.
Britain has been trying to persuade India to reduce its dependence on Russia, and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss traveled to the country for talks last month.
But the prime minister told reporters on the flight to Gujarat that Britain must acknowledge the historic relationship between Moscow and New Delhi.
On the plane to India, Boris Johnson parried questions about parties.
Asked if there were circumstances in which he would consider resigning if he faced further fines, Mr Johnson said he would not speculate – but insisted he would fight in the next election.
He said politicians should focus on things that matter to voters rather than talking about themselves.
Of course, the slow-burning fuse of the Met’s investigation and the eventual release of Sue Gray’s account at parties in Downing Street could throw his premiership into yet another crisis.
But Boris Johnson is hoping this trip will show him how the deal is progressing.
A free trade agreement with India will not be signed at this visit, but Mr Johnson said Britain is aiming for one by the end of the year.
But difficult talks are likely to be about Ukraine.
The prime minister was also very pessimistic about the prospects for a negotiated end to the crisis given what he called President Putin’s apparent lack of good faith.
The visit comes as Mr Johnson remains under pressure at home for lockdown parties at No 10 during the pandemic.
Last week, he, his wife and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were fined by police for attending a birthday party thrown for him in the cabinet room in June 2020.
The Prime Minister repeatedly apologized to the Commons on Tuesday for what he called his “mistake” and has denied misleading the House, despite previously telling MPs that no Covid laws were being broken at Downing Street .
But Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer branded his statement “a joke”, while both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats reiterated his resignation.
Labor’s motion to refer him to the Privileges Committee for an inquiry will be debated by MPs on Thursday morning and has the backing of almost all opposition parties in the House of Representatives.
Some rebellious Tory MPs threatened to vote with Labor or abstain – meaning the plan could be approved even by Mr Johnson’s large majority.
But the government is trying to delay any vote until existing investigations into the law-breaking are completed, saying it will allow the committee “to have all the facts at their disposal”.
A Labor source said any Conservative MP who voted in favor of the timetable would vote for a cover-up.
Mr Johnson may face multiple fines for lockdown parties after attending at least two other events under investigation by the Met and reportedly attending three others.
But the Prime Minister said he prefers to focus on “the things that make a real difference to the public” rather than “the politicians themselves”.
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