Prime Minister, Boris Johnson may be in Spain on “holiday”, but while he’s there it’s business as usual as he undertakes prime ministerial meetings with world leaders and his cabinet ministers.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson started Monday morning by speaking to Indian Prime Minister Modi. The Prime Ministers discussed the strength of the UK-India relationship and welcomed the progress made on the 2030 Roadmap since it was agreed by the Prime Minister and Prime Minister Modi in May. This includes in areas such as trade and defence. The leaders said they looked forward to the upcoming visit of the UK Carrier Strike Group to India and the deepening of the UK-India strategic partnership.
A Downing Street source told the Conservative Post that “while it is a change of scenery” the Prime Minister is working whilst in Spain. The source said the PM is “in regular contact with his Deputy Leader Dominic Raab, and his Cabinet Ministers, and he will be working from his accommodation in Spain which is set up with state of the art equipment for conference facilities and communications.”
The Prime Minister also spoke to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman today (Monday). The pair agreed on the importance of G20 countries making substantive progress on climate change and reducing emissions ahead of the COP26 Summit in Glasgow next month.
The Prime Minister said he hoped to see a Net Zero commitment and an ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution from Saudi Arabia, noting the country’s recent leadership on addressing climate change.
They also discussed the opportunities for further boosting trade and investment between the UK and Saudi Arabia, ahead of next week’s Global Investment Summit in London. The Prime Minister welcomed the recent launch of a consultation on a UK-Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement.
The Prime Minister and Crown Prince agreed to continue working closely together on our shared priorities in the coming weeks ahead of the crucial G20 and COP summits.
According to reports, the Prime Minister is understood to be staying at Zac Goldsmith’s home in the hills above the Costa del Sol in Spain with his pregnant wife Carrie and 17-month-old son Wilf to “spend some time with his family.”
Since his last holiday, the PM has tackled the pandemic, almost died from Covid-19, his mother died and he has welcomed his son Wilf into the world.
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on Sunday defended the prime minister’s decisions to fly to Marbella for a “break.”
Mr Kwarteng said:
“I am in regular contact with him. He’s also had a year-and-a-half in which he’s almost lost his life to Covid, his mother passed away very sadly two or three weeks ago and he may have decided to take a short break. I think that’s something reasonable.”
