The Hindu : Front Page : British Army chief for push to military ties

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Wednesday, Oct 31, 2007
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British Army chief for push to military ties

Special Correspondent

— Photo: PTI/Shahbaz Khan

FILLIP TO COOPERATION: British Army chief General Richard Dannatt with Chief of the Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: British Army chief General Richard Dannatt, here on a six-day visit, on Tuesday met Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, Chief of the Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor, Navy Vice-Chief Vice Admiral Nirmal Verma and Air Force Vice-Chief Air Marshal B. N. Gokhale and discussed steps to rebuild military ties.

Following a near-cessation of military ties after the 1998 nuclear tests, the United Kingdom has been relatively a late starter after the West began viewing India as a potential partner in South Asia in the post-September 11 period. Although a U.K-headquartered company won a billion-dollar deal for advanced jet trainers for inculcating advanced flying skills among rookie pilots, bilateral contacts in the form of joint military exercises were tenuous.

Gen. Dannatt will visit the Army establishments in Jaipur, Srinagar and Agra as well as various training institutes.

Mutual trust

“The visit reconfirms the mutual trust and friendship between the two armies and will provide the necessary fillip to our on-going army-to-army cooperation,” said a Defence Ministry release.

The General will also visit the Line of Control (LoC). He will be briefed on the infiltration scenario.

The visit “comes at a time when our cooperation with the British Army is at an all time high,” the release said.

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