British Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett on Tuesday said her country will work closely with India to "prepare for and manage" crises like terrorist strikes ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and the 2012 Olympics in London.
"We have a great deal to learn from each other in countering terrorism, and although we would be sharing this cooperation with India as a whole, it makes more sense to start from Mumbai because it is more relevant," Beckett told reporters in Mumbai after a meeting with Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and other senior officials.
"We are working to draw practical lessons from our experience of terrorist attacks on mass transit systems. We have agreed to share best practices and planning for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games and the London 2012 Olympics," she said.
"We will examine how we can work together to improve how we plan for, prepare for and manage crises. Additionally, the UK has been working hard to expedite (India's) membership of the Financial Action Task Force -- the world's leading body for countering terrorism finance," she said.
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said both sides will benefit from the sharing of technology and experiences in dealing with terror.
"This meeting has raised our hopes. We have some experiences to share and they too have had the same experience with terror. Also they have advanced technology which we can make use of to keep our state and country secure," he said.
"Recently we had a great deal of experience in close circuit cameras and we are also developing certain techniques and programmes for recognising suspicious behaviour," Beckett said.
Asked whether she had been made aware of Pakistan's involvement in the July 11 train bombings in Mumbai, Beckett declined to comment, saying, "I make it a policy not to discuss intelligence issues."
Deshmukh, who invited investment from Britain in Maharashtra, said, "We talked about our new housing policy which allows FDI in the real estate sector and our new industrial policy as well."
Later, Mumbai Police Commissioner A N Roy told reporters, "The two governments have decided to set up a mechanism whereby the police forces of the two countries can exchange experiences. A couple of months ago, a senior police officer from the UK was here and he was very impressed with the way we have solved the case so quickly."
