NEW DELHI: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK), Rishi Sunak, offered prayers at Akshardham Temple on Sunday morning. After offering prayers, Sunak left the Akshardham Temple premises to accompany world leaders at Rajghat.
Ahead of the UK Prime Minister's visit, elaborate security arrangements were put in place in and around the temple. While speaking to ANI on Saturday, the UK PM had said that he will visit Delhi's Akshardham temple today. Rishi Sunak also expressed his hope that he will find time to visit a temple, here in India, during his stay for the G20 Summit. He had said that he has “enormous respect” for PM Modi and that he is keen to support him in making the G20 an enormous success.
“I am a proud Hindu. That’s how I was raised, that’s how I am. Hopefully, I can visit the Mandir while I am here for the next couple of days. We just had Rakshabandhan, so from my sister and my cousin, I have all my Rakhis,” Rishi Sunak said. “I didn’t have time to celebrate Janmashtami. But hopefully, as I said I can make up for that if we visit a Mandir this time,” he added.
He further said that faith is something very important as it gives strength and resilience during stress. An Akshardham temple official had earlier told ANI that preparations were fully done to welcome United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Narayana Murty on Sunday. Sunak, accompanied by wife Akshata Murty had arrived in Delhi on Friday.
This is Rishi Sunak's first visit to India as Prime Minister since he assumed the office of Prime Minister of the UK in October last year. India and the UK are bound by strong ties of history and culture, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. India’s multifaceted bilateral relationship with the UK intensified with its upgradation to a Strategic Partnership in 2004.