Britain planning to expand ops in India,to increase diplomatic staff to 30

Chennai:

British Minister of State for Foreign Minister Jeremy Browne on Tuesday said that Britain is planning to expand its presence in India and put an end to the row over British aid to India saying that the aid is to alleviate poverty and not to secure contract through indirect means.

His statement comes in the wake of British parliamentarians putting pressure on British Prime Minister David Cameron to cut £1-billion aid budget to India after it announced that it will buy French warplanes instead of the UK-backed Eurofighter Typhoon.

Speaking to reporters after delivering a talk at the   Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), he said the aid is to reach out to poor in India and bring in positive changes besides tackling infant mortality.

The minister, whose main thrust is to strengthen ties between India and Britain, also said that his country is planning to expand its presence into India’s new and exciting business centers. “We want to widen our focus beyond Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore and are currently discussing plans with your authorities to expand our presence into India’s new and exciting business centers,” he said, adding that it is going to increase it to 30 diplomatic officers in frontline offices.

He also took a swipe at Iran and said that the country sponsors terrorism and abuses human rights. “India understands the consequence of terrorism,” he said.

The minister also said that Britain does not want to see nuclear arms race in the Middle East and is okay if Iran uses nuclear power for civil purpose.

Backing India for a permanent seat in security council, he said, “Our two nations do not always agree on matters of foreign policy but we both place supreme importance on the architecture of global governance. If institutions like UN are to retain their legitimacy, they must be representative of global distribution of power and influence,” he added.