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The agreement was among the two pacts that the
visiting UAE deputy Prime Minister and Minister
of Interior Lt Gen Shaikh Saif bin Zayed al Nahyan
signed with his Indian host, Home Minister P Chidambaram.
According to an official statement, the two
leaders discussed various issues on bilateral
security cooperation and decided to “strengthen
and develop the existing bilateral framework/
mechanism to enhance security cooperation in the
areas such as combating terrorism in all forms,
addressing activities of organized criminal groups,
drug trafficking, illicit trafficking in weapons,
ammunition, explosives, etc., and initiatives
on training of personnel.”
The second pact, “Agreement on Transfer
of Sentenced Persons,” provides “the
framework to facilitate the social rehabilitation
of sentenced persons in their respective countries
by giving citizens of the Contracting States,
who have been convicted and sentenced as a result
of commission of a criminal offences, the opportunity
to serve the sentence in their own society.”
There are about 1200 Indian nationals in UAE
jails, and this agreement would facilitate their
transfer to India to serve the remaining part
of their imprisonment terms. There are hardly
any UAE nationals in Indian jails – if any
– and this agreement indicates a humane approach
by the UAE authorities to expatriates. Notably,
most of the Indians in the UAE jails have petty
offences, including consumption and movement of
liquor.
A Home Ministry official described the discussions
as “cordial and very friendly” adding
that “both the countries reiterated their
commitment for enhanced cooperation in investigation
of mutually relevant criminal cases and sharing
of relevant information in this regard.”
Shaikh Saif bin Zayed, who arrived here yesterday,
thanked Mr Chidambaram and invited the Indian
Home Minister to visit Abu Dhabi.
The UAE delegation includes Lt Gen Saif Al Sha'far,
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Maj
Gen Nasser Lakhraibani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General
of the Office of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister
of Interior and other senior officials.
It may be noted that India and UAE already have
a pact of Strategic Cooperation, signed in 2003
when Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme
Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Gen Shaikh Mohammed
bin Zayed al Nahyan visited New Delhi.
Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed al
Nahyan has also been to New Delhi a couple of
times to renew and strengthen bilateral ties.
Discussions have also been held between the think
tanks of the two countries, India's Institute
for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) and UAE's
Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research
(ECSSR).
Notably, in May 1981, when the then Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi visited Abu Dhabi, she and UAE President
Shaikh Zayed said in a joint statement that "security
and stability of the Gulf region and the Indian
subcontinent are interlinked."
(Emirates News Agency,
WAM)
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