Shiv Shankar Menon, India's foreign secretary, has said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will raise the issue of the Mumbai train blasts during his meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the leadership of the Euopean Union next week.
Menon was briefing media on the six-day visit of the prime minister from Monday to the UK and Finland, during which the issue of civil nuclear cooperation will also be discussed. Dr Singh is visiting Helsinki to attend the India-EU Summit.
Dr Singh would be accompanied by Minister of Commerce and Industries Kamal Nath and Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma.
"The focus among other things would be on counter-terrorism. This would be fifth such meeting between the two leaders," Menon said.
India and Britain would be sharing intelligence on global terrorism as both would be hosting major international sporting events in next few years. "While India will host the Commonwealth games in 2010, Britain would play host to 2012 Olympic Games," he pointed out.
Over 1.2 million people of Indian origin have taken up British citizenship, which includes students studying in various courses in leading British universities and institutes.
"Indians have invested over 1 billion pounds in the industrial sector. Twenty-five hundred Indian companies have their offices in Greater London. Our trade with Britain has touched over 5.8 billion pound sterling. The prime minister would also be visiting Cambridge University on October 11 where he would be given a honorary degree," Menon said.
Dr Singh will meet the president of Finland and other leaders during his stay in Helisinki. He denied that the members of the European Union wanted India to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty before extending their support to the treaty between India and United States on civilian nuclear cooperation."
"Our stand is known to European Union members. While some are supportive of our stand, some are not so supportive and some are opposed to it," he said.
The foreign secretary said that right now what is important is to see what happens in the United States itself over this agreement. Menon said that the Indian government would raise the Iran issue with the British government to see what developments have taken place on this crucial issue.
"We will bring them up to date with India's experience as victim of terrorism," the foreign secretary said, adding the two sides will discuss what could be done as common effort to defeat terrorism. New Delhi has already shared evidence with regard to the Mumbai blasts probe with the United States.
Mumbai Police had last week said that probe into the serial train blasts had revealed involvement of ISI, Lashkar-e-Tayiba terror outfit based in Pakistan.
With PTI Inputs
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