Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) India and Britain Tuesday discussed measures to step up anti-terrorism ties as British foreign office minister, Jeremy Browne, arrived here on a two-day India trip that will also take him to West Bengal for a meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Browne, who has a specific responsibility for developing Britain’s relationship with Asia and the emerging powers that includes India, met union Home Minister P. Chidambaram soon after his arrival.

He discussed with Chidambaram measures to strengthen cooperation on counter-terrorism, policing and other homeland security issues, a statement from the British High Commission said here.

Browne also met Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur and discussed the key priorities in taking forward the enhanced partnership, the statement said.

The visit to India is the latest in a series by British ministers, and the first by a foreign minister since Prime Minister David Cameron’s trip here in July 2010.

“Browne’s visit underlines the UK government’s strong and on-going commitment to build an enhanced partnership with India,” said the statement.

Browne’s visit comes a few days after the bilateral meetings between External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his British counterpart William Hague in the UK last week.

He would be the first from the UK’s coalition government to visit West Bengal Tuesday.

In Kolkata, he will meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee “to explore how the UK and West Bengal should best deepen their economic, commercial and scientific ties”, according to the high commission.

“He will explore this further with local Indian and British business executives. He will also inaugurate the GOALZ programme, under which the Kolkata police, local football clubs, the English Premier League and the British Council support disadvantaged youths through sport.”

Ahead of his visit to India, the minister last week told a gathering in London that the starting proposition for any discussion about India’s role in the world “is its inexorable rise to the status of a global power”.

“India has always had a strong global brand: today it is Bollywood; Incredible India; the superstars in their cricket team. The brand of the India of tomorrow has a great opportunity — not only to exemplify these principles but to propagate them.”