New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a conversation over the phone on October 11. The timing of the talk was significant as it took place on the day the withdrawal of mandatory quarantine rules for Indian travellers to the UK despite being fully vaccinated came into effect.
Earlier, the UK had amended the travel rules and recognized Covishield as the Covid-19 vaccine but had put a condition of mandatory quarantine for Covisheild vaccinated Indians entering the UK.
India, on October 1, took countermeasures and imposed a ten-day mandatory quarantine for UK citizens traveling to India. Alex Ellis, the British High Commissioner to India, in a tweet later announced that no quarantine conditions would be applicable to Indian citizens vaccinated with Covishield or any other UK-approved vaccine from October 11.
In their courtesy call, the two leaders reviewed the progress in bilateral relations since their virtual summit earlier this year. The prime ministers of both the countries expressed satisfaction at the steps already initiated under the Roadmap-2030 adopted during the virtual summit. They also reviewed the progress of the Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) and agreed on the potential of rapidly expanding trade and investment linkages between both countries.
PM Modi and Boris Johnson also exchanged views on regional developments, especially on the developing situation in Afghanistan. They agreed on the need to develop a common international perspective on issues regarding extremism and terrorism, as well as human rights, rights of women and minorities in Afghanistan.
