New Delhi, Feb. 19 (ANI): The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on Tuesday said India and the United Kingdom have agreed to further intensify the cooperation in combating terrorism.
In his statement to the media during the visit of British Prime Minister David Cameron, Dr. Singh said that he had very candid and productive discussions on regional and global issues with the visiting dignitary.
" We shared our perspectives on the security and political transition in Afghanistan. I conveyed India's enduring commitment to assist Afghanistan through the transition and beyond, by supporting its economic growth and regional economic integration and helping develop its capacity for governance, development and security in accordance with our strategic partnership agreement with Afghanistan. We also had productive discussions on other issues in our immediate neighbourhood, including Iran and West Asia," said Dr. Singh.
"We agreed to further intensify our cooperation in combating terrorism. We have also increased our engagement on cyber security," he added.
Dr. Singh, who welcomed the British Prime Minister on his official visit to India, said Prime Minister Cameron's strong personal commitment and leadership has imparted a strong momentum to the strategic partnership between India and the U.K.
"His first visit to India as Prime Minister in 2010, a few months after he assumed office, laid the foundation of our Enhanced Partnership for the future, which is defined by a high level of economic and technological cooperation and close coordination on many common regional and global challenges," he added.
Dr. Singh said that he and Prime Minister Cameron reviewed the entire expanse of the bilateral relations between the two sides.
"We expressed satisfaction with progress in our economic engagement, while stressing the need to do more to take the relationship to a new level. We discussed ways to generate higher growth in our trade. I invited increased British investments in India, including in infrastructure and energy," said Dr. Singh.
"We have asked our officials to explore British participation in India's National Manufacturing and Investment Zones and in a possible industrial corridor in the Mumbai-Bangalore sector," he added.
Dr. Singh said that he also sought Prime Minister Cameron's support in ensuring an early conclusion of a fair, balanced and forward looking broad-based India-EU Trade and Investment Agreement, which will open new opportunities for trade and investment between our two countries.
"We discussed the prospects of enhanced cooperation in the development of the defence industrial base of India through greater emphasis on technology transfer, co-development and co-production," he added.
Asserting that education and science and technology are special areas of India-UK cooperation, Dr. Singh said: "I have impressed upon PM Cameron the need for a visa regime that facilitates greater movement of people between our two countries so that this cooperation can be further energized."
Dr. Singh said that he thanked Prime Minister Cameron for the UK's support for India's full membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and other multilateral export control regimes.
"We have also decided to commence negotiations on a bilateral Civil Nuclear Agreement," he added.
Dr. Singh further said that he and Prime Minister Cameron agreed that in keeping with our strategic relationship, it is important for our two sides to consult closely and remain sensitive to each other's interests.
"Prime Minister Cameron's visit is another milestone in our bilateral relations. It has been a pleasure working with him and I look forward to continuing our mutual partnership," he added. (ANI)
|
|
Comments:
