India, UK hold talks on key bilateral, regional issues

NEW DELHI: India and the UK today discussed key bilateral and regional issues during a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her British counterpart Philip Hammond here.

The two leaders held comprehensive talks on entire gamut of ties apart from the regional and international issues.

The meeting came just two days ahead of the unveiling ceremony of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Parliament Square in London on March 14, a high-profile event slated to be attended by British Prime Minister David Cameron and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The British minister described the unveiling of the statue in the Parliament Square, which already host statues of Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela, as "fitting" for a leader of his stature.

Emphasising that the UK attaches great importance to its ties with India, the visiting minister said his country was very keen to work with the Indian government."We are putting our money where the mouth is," he added.

Hammond, who arrived in India yesterday on a two-day visit, told reporters that his government was hoping to receive Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the UK in "late summer or early autumn" after the elections there.

Asked about the threat of Islamic militant group ISIS and recent incident of three British girls crossing over to Turkey to go to Syria, he said self-radicalisation among the population was one of the major problems India and the UK were facing.