Former British Prime Minister Johnson in his new memoir praises Prime Minister Modi, who “made a difference” | Foreign Defense Security News

“For some reason we came down to stand in the dark on Tower Bridge Plaza in front of a crowd of his supporters,” Johnson recalled in a chapter titled “Britain and India,” referring to his first meeting with Modi. Visit his office in the Town Hall on the Thames when he was Mayor of London.

“He lifted my arm and said something in Hindi, and although I couldn't follow it, I felt his strange, subtle energy. Since then, I have enjoyed his company because I believe he is the change we need in our relationship. With Modi “With confidence that we can not only conclude a great free trade agreement, but also build a long-term partnership as friends and equals,” he wrote.

Johnson revealed how a visibly sniffy British Foreign Office warned him against meeting a Hindu nationalist leader during the mayor's trade delegation to India in 2012; the issue was soon abandoned to pave the way for a relationship that “reached an all-time high.”

The 60-year-old politician-turned-writer emphasized how much he loves India, saying he is a “veteran” of many Indian marriages as his children with ex-wife Marina Wheeler, who is of Sikh heritage, trace their roots to the country.

Although he proudly wrote of similar “Anglo-Indian syncretism” in politics with his diverse prime minister's cabinet, which included many Britons such as Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel, Johnson lamented the slow growth of bilateral trade due to unnecessary trade barriers. Leave it to UK visitors to match duty-free booze with decently priced scotch-hungry Indians.

Johnson also recalled the extraordinary success of his visit to India as Prime Minister in January 2022, hailing it as a much-needed morale boost and balm for the soul in the face of increasingly warlike domestic politics that ultimately culminated in his unceremonious exit from 10 Downing Street. A few months Later.

He claimed that he wanted to use the visit to talk delicately to Modi on relations with Russia, which is at a global turning point amid Russia's conflict with Ukraine.

He wrote: “I knew all the history and all the sensitivities, the reasons for India's post-war lack of engagement with the West, the seemingly inseparable relationship with Moscow. I understood India's dependence on Russian hydrocarbons, as did China. But I wondered if that wasn't the case. … It's time to modulate. Isn't it, to sum up… Since I handed over the matter to the Indians, Russian rackets are less accurate than my first serve in tennis, statistically they have turned out to be a major supplier of military equipment?”

It is in this context that in another part of the book, where he lavishly praises the late Queen Elizabeth II for her deep, personal knowledge of history and its creators, he mentions her efforts to get India to take a tough stance against the Russians. .

Rani, he wrote, remembers something former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru told him in the 1950s. “He told me that India will always stand by Russia and some things will never change. Nothing happened to them,” Johnson recalled hearing from the Queen. “I cite this as an example of his incredible ability to calm and contextualize situations,” he says, referring to his traditional weekly audiences with the late king when he was prime minister.

Johnson credits a broader vision for the India-UK partnership, going beyond partnerships on trade, climate change and education, and initiating a full program of military and technical cooperation.

The Ministry of Defense, which has always claimed to be concerned about India's closeness to Russia, has agreed to cooperate on all kinds of military technology, from submarines to helicopters to naval propulsion units, it said.

In Unleashed, Johnson seems keen to emphasize his lack of bitterness over his ignominious removal as Prime Minister in the wake of the Partygate pandemic-busting scandal, but it is clear that it was his eventual successor at 10 Downing, Rishi Sunak. Street, who resigned as chancellor hastened his departure from the cabinet in June 2022.

“It was worse than a crime, I thought. A mistake by both the wise man and the party, not to mention the country. This is what happened,” he wrote, referring to the recent disastrous Tory general election results.

“I don't blame Sage for wanting to become prime minister prematurely; I don't really blame any of them, really, for trying to take me down. Only Tory MPs do this… That doesn't mean if we stuck together. I have no doubt that we would win in 2024 and many of my friends will now get their seats,” he assured.