UK prime minister Boris Johnson will later this week meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, where he will reiterate the need for democracies to “stick together” and aim to bolster economic and defence co-operation between the two countries.

During the two day visit, Johnson will hold talks with Modi in New Delhi focusing on strengthening security co-operation between India and the UK in the Indo-Pacific region as well as strategic defence in light of increasing Russian aggression.

Throughout the Ukraine conflict, India has maintained a strategically neutral stance on Russia. Modi has expressed concern over the use of violence against civilians such as that recorded in Bucha, but India has opted to abstain on critical UN votes condemning Russia. Modi even met Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov this year.