There is growing concern in the West about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reluctance to publicly denounce the actions of Russia, India’s Cold War ally. India relies heavily on Moscow for arms imports and abstained in a series of United Nations invasions. Image: Foreign Minister Liz Truss travels to India to urge country to condemn Russian invasion The government agreed this month to import three million barrels of Russian oil at a big discount after Moscow was forced to drop prices due to international sanctions. There are concerns that the relatively small amount of oil is a precursor to more markets in the coming months, which could weaken the impact of Western sanctions on Russia. Read more: Russian fuel market gives “damn money” to Moscow, says Ukraine Liz Truss’s visit is not just about Russia. It will confirm 70 70m British investment funding to support the development of renewable energy in India, one of the world’s largest hydrocarbon users. It will also announce a new joint cyber security program to protect cyber infrastructure in both countries from attacks. Trade is also likely to be on the agenda after the two countries began talks on a free trade agreement in January with the aim of signing an agreement by the end of the year that could boost trade by billions of pounds. Image: Karnataka court upholds ban on students wearing hijab But there are other problems in India that Ms Truss will have to deal with, including banning the use of hijab in the classrooms in Karnataka, which is seen as an attempt to marginalize minority Muslims in the predominantly Hindu nation. There are fears that similar bans could be imposed in other states after a court upheld the ruling, prompting some Muslim female students to consider dropping out of college. Tensions between India and Pakistan have also risen recently, with two suspected insurgents killed in an exchange of gunfire with government forces in the Indian-controlled capital city of Kashmir early Wednesday, police said. Neighboring countries are each claiming the divided territory of Kashmir as a whole, with tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces being killed in the 1989 conflict. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:46 What happened on the 35th day of the conflict? Since becoming prime minister in 2019, Boris Johnson has sought to build stronger ties with India by signing a landmark deal with Mr Monti last year to strengthen ties over the next decade. Ahead of her trip to India, Ms True said: “The deeper ties between Britain and India will enhance security in the Indo-Pacific and globally and create jobs and opportunities in both countries. “This is all the more important in the context of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and underscores the need for free democracies to work more closely together in areas such as defense, trade and cyber security.” “India is an economic and technological power, the largest democracy in the world and a great friend of Britain, and I want to build an even closer relationship between our two nations.”
