British envoy meeting with Modi normal diplomatic contact: MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs today played down the meeting of British high commissioner James Bevan with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, saying it was a "normal diplomatic contact".

"If a foreign diplomat in India decides to meet an elected representative, an elected chief minister, it is not in the province of the Ministry of External Affairs to get into this. These are normal diplomatic contacts. And certainly, this was a normal meeting as far as the MEA is concerned," ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told reporters here.

Bevan met Modi at his office in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, ending the 10-year-long isolation of the Gujarat Chief Minister by some countries. Britain's decision to "re-engage" with Modi is being seen as widely significant considering that it is likely to have a trigger effect on some other countries as well.

Bevan talked business ties and investment, among other things, with Modi during the nearly hour-long meeting.

Akbaruddin said the MEA was not attaching any special significance to the meeting. "India is an open investment destination for foreign countries and Gujarat is no exception to this," he said.

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