Britain will send a high-level team of security experts to New Delhi during the Commonwealth Games this year to assist the Indian security forces, Home Minister P Chidambaram has said. "They (UK) are going to send a team to assist Indian forces for the Commonwealth Games. I said yes," Chidambaram, who was in the UK on an official visit, said last night before leaving for home.
Chidambaram said issues related to police cooperation and security of Commonwealth Games figured during his meeting with his British counterpart Alan Johnson. "We discussed co-operation. He suggested an MoU on police co-operation. I said yes. There is nothing wrong with the MoU, but we must have more practical cooperation." "There are a number of areas where we can co-operate at practical levels between the agencies, forensic science labs, our scientists and technicians can get a chance to work with their scientists and technicians," the Home Minister, who also met Foreign Secretary David Miliband, said.
After the meeting yesterday, Johnson said he had a productive meeting with Chidambaram "where we discussed a range of issues including counter-terrorism, migration, organised crime and police cooperation." Chidambaram also had a meeting with the Prime Minister's Foreign Policy Advisor Simon McDonald. "They had a constructive discussion on a range of bilateral and foreign policy issues, building on the strong UK-India relationship," a Downing Street spokesman said. The Home Minister also had indepth discussions with chiefs of key counter-terrorism and security institutions including Mi5 and Mi6, Britain's internal and external intelligence agencies and the Scotland Yard. PTI
