Did UK defence minister snub Sitharaman?
July 01, 2018 19:53
Britain's Defence Minister Gavin Williamson is reportedly under fire from within the UK Cabinet for turning down a bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman, who was due to attend the first-ever UK-India Week, a media report claimed today.
The meeting was requested over a month ago by Indian officials, and at least two British ministers including foreign secretary Boris Johnson reportedly sought to convince Williamson of the importance of finding time in the diary for Sitharaman.
Williamson, UK Secretary of State for defence, declined to meet Sitharaman's three-day window of bilateral talks on security cooperation and defence procurement between June 20 and 22, according to The Sunday Times.
There was no immediate comment from the ministry of defence in New Delhi.
"People are spitting blood about this," the newspaper quoted a UK government source as saying.
"India has one of the fastest-growing defence budgets in the world, spending something like USD 50 billion a year. It feels like another ill-judged move by Williamson," the source said.
The report said that Williamson has been accused of angering one of the world's largest emerging economies by snubbing his Indian counterpart.
-- PTI
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