UK wants more India cooperation on terrorism

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for greater cooperation with India on combatting terrorism as he began a visit to New Delhi on Sunday.

Brown wants India to become a member of an international body that counters terrorist financing -- the Financial Action Task Force -- and also wants to help it to acquire sophisticated equipment to detect people carrying weapons or explosives at ports and airports.

"There's got to be greater cooperation between the major countries and Britain in the fight against terrorism," he told the BBC in an interview on Sunday.

"I want not just China and Pakistan but also India to play their part in cooperating with us so we can root out those who are seeking to use terrorist finance," he said.

"That means India should join what's called the Financial Action Task Force -- it's not yet a member -- so it can play its part in working to deal with terrorist structures," Brown said.

He also called for a hearts and minds campaign to combat ‘extremist ideologies’.

Brown arrived in India from China where he focused on expanding trade and investment and on cooperation against climate change.

In India he will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, meet business leaders and give a speech on Monday on reforming international institutions.

News Source : Samachar