Abu Dhabi: India and the UAE will sign two major bilateral agreements for exchange of prisoners and security cooperation today in New Delhi, a senior diplomat has said.
The signing of the agreements is part of an important official visit of Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, who reached New Delhi yesterday. The negotiations on "India-UAE agreement for transfer of sentenced persons" was concluded between the two countries a few months ago, M.K. Lokesh, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, told a press conference at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Among the 1,200 Indian prisoners in the UAE jails, those who have been sentenced will have a choice to spend the remaining prison term [if it is more than six months] in India, he said.
Suspects undergoing trial cannot be transferred. Their exact number was not available with the embassy. There is only one UAE National in Indian jail who is a suspect and he can be transferred to the UAE if sentenced. His trial in three of the four criminal cases have been completed and the embassy has requested the Indian Government to expedite the remaining case, the ambassador said without revealing details.
The embassy has been following up the case of two old Indian prisoners in the UAE, who wanted to spend their remaining jail term back home. "They can be transferred to Indian jails under the agreement," Lokesh said.
Anti-terror expertise
The second agreement — "India-UAE agreement for security cooperation" — will cover all security-related matters, including sharing of intelligence and expertise to prevent terrorism and cybercrimes, Lokesh said. There is already an extradition treaty between the two countries, and people arrested in criminal cases are exchanged regularly by formal and informal channels, he said.
A senior official of the Ministry of Interior, who is in Shaikh Saif's delegation to India, confirmed the signing of the agreements. "The agreements will enhance security cooperation between the countries," the official who did not want to be named said before boarding the flight to India yesterday morning.
The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs will conduct its annual regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, a conference for Indian expatriates in GCC countries, in Dubai next year, the ambassador said. Indian expatriates from all Gulf countries will attend the conference, he said.
— With inputs from Abdullah Rasheed, Abu Dhabi Editor
Focus on relations
A two-day seminar on ‘Arab-India relations through the ages in history, art and culture', organised by Shaikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Cultural and Media Centre and the Indian Embassy, began in the capital yesterday.
The cultural contacts between Indians and Arabs extended over a wide variety of activities ranging from cuisine to the naming of individuals and clans, said M.K. Lokesh, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, at the inaugural session. Many distinguished families in the Arab world carry the surname ‘Al Hindi', he said.
The name ‘Hinduism' is partly an Arab contribution. Jawaharlal Nehru states in his book ‘Discovery of India' that it was Arabs, Persians and Greeks who gave the name Hindu to the people who live across the river Sindhu or Indus, Lokesh said. Habib Al Sayegh, director-general of Sultan Bin Zayed Cultural and Media Centre, welcomed the audience. The seminar being held at Armed Forces Officers Club will conclude today.
