Indian Parliamentarians Tour Uk’s Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier
The parliamentarians are in the UK for a week, focusing on five UK-India priorities: climate change, public healthcare, parliamentary democracy, finance, and defence and security
Six Indian parliamentarians toured the UK’s brand new aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales on 16 January 2020 as part of the UK-India Chevening Parliamentarian Fellowship Programme.
They were given the opportunity to see the bridge, aircraft hangar, and flight deck of the warship, which is the largest ever to be built for the UK.
The parliamentarians are in the UK for a week, focusing on five UK-India priorities: climate change, public healthcare, parliamentary democracy, finance, and defence and security. They were also hosted in the House of Lords, met the Chief Executive of University College London Hospital, and discussed cyber security at the University of Portsmouth, a statement from the British High Commission read.
HMS Prince of Wales is one of two Royal Navy aircraft carriers and was commissioned on 10 December, 2019. Its sister aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will operate in the Indian Ocean Region on her first operational deployment in 2021.
“The Royal Navy and Indian Navy share a long and rich maritime history. The Carrier Capability Partnership we have established allows us to share best practice from the UK’s carrier programme. In doing so, and developing our respective national capabilities in tandem, we build greater interoperability and mutual understanding,” said Commodore Stephen Moorhouse, Commander UK Carrier Strike Group.
The Chevening Parliamentarian Fellowship Programme is a week long programme in the UK which gives Indian MPs the opportunity to discuss key contemporary issues impacting the world with counterparts and other senior interlocutors in the UK.
The MPs are meeting the UK’s top opinion formers and decision-makers to exchange ideas, solutions and develop future networks and contacts. The tailor-made programme focuses on leadership, international relations, social and public policy as well as issues relevant to both India and the UK such as clean energy, health, education and smart cities. The programme is hosted by London School of Economics (LSE).