Billionaire industrialist and chairman of Adani Group Gautam Adani hosted British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is on a two-day visit to India, at the Adani global headquarters, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, on Thursday.
The two discussed a "range of bilateral matters", including "key thrust areas such as energy transition, climate action, aerospace and defence."
After the meeting, Gautam Adani tweeted: "Honoured to host @BorisJohnson, the first UK PM to visit Gujarat, at Adani HQ. Delighted to support climate & sustainability agenda with focus on renewables, green H2 & new energy. Will also work with UK companies to co-create defence & aerospace technologies. #AtmanirbharBharat."
Although the company didn't make any statement, sources said the "big-ticket item on today's agenda for the British PM and Gautam Adani was the collaboration in the defence section."
Sources said Adani's goal was "to develop deep original equipment manufacturing (OEM) capabilities and work towards making India an export hub for defence."
During his day-long tour, the British PM visited Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram, where he described Gandhi as an "extraordinary man".
Johnson also inaugurated a JCB factory at Halol in the Panchmahals district of central Gujarat. This visit attracted many on social media as it came in the middle of the rising controversy over razing homes and shops in several BJP-ruled states, including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi.
Johnson visited the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar, built by Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha or BAPS. The Sanstha has several such temples in England. From Akshardham, he went to the under-construction Gujarat Biotechnology University at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City in Gandhinagar.
Earlier in the day, Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel received him at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
The British PM will leave for New Delhi to hold talks with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on Friday.
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