London: India and the UK will hold wide-ranging talks on foreign policy matters, including Afghanistan and counter-terrorism, during a crucial meeting between External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his British counterpart William Hague on Thursday.
As a prelude to the high-level meeting, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao met Permanent Under Secretary in the British Foreign Office Simon Fraser on Tuesday and had a "wide-ranging exchange on the current priorities for the UK-India Enhanced Partnership."
"The delegations spoke about substantial progress made in the year since Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to India and looked forward to the tasks for the year ahead," the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a statement on Wednesday.
It said they also discussed "a wide range of foreign policy matters, including bringing long-term stability to Afghanistan, the current situation in the Middle East, UN Security Council reform, working together to support India's applications to join the four Export Control Regimes, stepping up counter-terrorism cooperation and strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation to tackle the challenges of climate change."
India and the UK share a special and unique relationship, bound by shared values and ties, including the ideals of democracy, the rule of law, inclusiveness and pluralism, the statement said.
The bilateral relationship reflects this unique bond, covering the entire spectrum of activity, from education, to trade and investment, to counter-terrorism and other security cooperation, it said.
Rao also called on Jeremy Browne, Minister of State in Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the UK's National Security Adviser Sir Peter Ricketts.
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