British navy chief begins six-day visit to India tomorrow

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) British Navy Chief Admiral SirMark Stanhope begins his six-day visit to India tomorrow toenhance cooperation between the two countries in maritimesecurity and anti-terrorism efforts.

During the visit, the Royal Navy chief is likely todiscuss all aspects of UK defence and security policy as wellas the defence relationship, including maritime cooperationbetween the two sides, the British High Commission said in arelease here.

Stanhope would meet Defence Minister A K Antony andthe three services chiefs, it said.

The Naval officer would also visit the IndianNavy-sponsored think tank National Maritime Foundation (NMF)and deliver a speech on ''Indian Ocean and Maritime Security.''

In the latter part of his tour, Stanhope will go toMumbai where he would visit the defence shipyard MazagonDockyards Limited (MDL).

He will also meet the Western Naval Commander ViceAdmiral Sanjeev Bhasin and discuss with him ways to increasecooperation between the navies of the two countries.

The visit comes six months after Prime Ministers ofthe two nations highlighted their wish to see a strengtheneddefence and security relationship as a priority for theenhanced partnership between the UK and India.

The two countries have increased the military tomilitary cooperation with their Navies and Air Forces holdingwargames at regular intervals.