The United Arab Emirates has indicated that it is not averse to the idea of India contributing troops for stabilisation and security in Iraq. This was reportedly conveyed by the visiting Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Sheikh Mohammed bin Zahyed Al Nahyan to PM A.B. Vajpayee at a hastily scheduled meeting on Tuesday. Vajpayee, who was not seeing any visitors today for health reasons, made an exception to meet Al Nahyan. In fact, the issue also came up for discussion at the meeting between the UAE Chief of Staff and Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani on Monday. The Dy PM is understood to have emphasised that India will take a decision only after careful consideration of all aspects. While choosing not to comment or divulge details of Al Nahyan’s meeting with the Indian leadership on the issue, India’s envoy to UAE K.C. Singh said the visiting dignitary did clarify that UAE had opted not to send troops to Iraq due to lack of consensus among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). India, UAE sign MoU pact on defence cooperation NEW DELHI: INDIA and the United Arab Emirates today inked a memorandum of understanding to promote defence cooperation on Tuesday. The agreement was signed by Defence Secretary Subir Dutta and Dr Saeed M. Ali Al Shamsi, UAE Ambassador to India. The agreement calls for greater defence cooperation as well as export and import of arms. It also includes military training and exchange of military personnel for training capsules. According to South Block officials, the agreement takes forward New Delhi’s initiative for greater military cooperation with Gulf countries, which could serve as markets for Indian-designed weapon systems. The MoU also calls for greater cooperation in defence research and industry and joint efforts in humanitarian and peace-keeping operations. —ENS Since UAE troops were part of the GCC Force posted near Kuwait, sources said, it was not possible for it to take an independent decision on the subject. This apart, India and UAE have decided to put in place a framework for a strategic dialogue. While Al Nahyan — who is also the defacto National Security Advisor — will represent UAE, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha will be India’s intercolutor. New Delhi has no such arrangement with any of the GCC countries. The framework will enable discussions at various levels on security issues. ‘‘UAE has realised that in the changing global security scenario after 9/11, it will also have to review its approach.’’ The framework will include agency-level interaction on trans-national criminals. From the Indian perspective, this will help zero-in on particularly those who are in New Delhi’s most wanted list of underworld criminals. ‘‘The extradition treaty is a legal basis of deporting a criminal, but it is takes time. It was felt that to keep track of trans-national criminals and their activities, there needs to be greater cooperation among specific agencies dealing with the cases in both the countries,’’ explained Singh. On Anees Ibrahim’s — brother of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim — successful bid in leaving UAE despite being initially detained, Singh said it was an ‘‘aberration’’ in the entire process. ‘‘We have had a series of deportations after that. This indicates a self-correction on the part of the UAE Government.’’ Al Nahyan also met Defence Minister George Fernandes during the day. A memorandum of understanding was signed between both countries for greater cooperation on military matters. UAE, in particular, will be looking at increasing the quota for its military personnel at Indian defence institutions. During his meeting with PM Vajpayee, Al-Nahyan also handed over a letter of invitation for the PM from UAE President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
