Brown speaks to Manmohan; offers help in combating terrorism

H S Rao

London, Mar 24 (PTI) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
has spoken to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and offered
assistance in tracking down the culprits of Mumbai terror
attacks.

"We have offered whatever help we can to track down
whoever is responsible and we will help the Indian Government
in its efforts to combat terrorism. So, we will be able to
continue to work with India on this issue," Brown said.

He said he had a very good conversation with Singh who is
currently recuperating from his recent by-pass heart surgery
and he seemed to be in very good health now.

"I had a very good conversation with Prime Minister
(Manmohan) Singh. I wanted to assure myself that he has our
best wishes as he recovered from his by-pass operation.

"He seems to be in very good health now. It is very good
to be able to talk to him. He is a very old friend of mine and
I enjoy our conversations," Brown told a select group of
journalists Monday evening.

Brown was speaking just days before the G-20 summit in
London's Docklands which will be attended among others by
Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama.

Answering questions, Brown indicated that G20 summit is
expected to take a strong stand against protectionism.

"We have got a duty to say protectionism protects no
one effectively in the long run and that protectionism can
become a road to ruin because world trade declines, companies
then receive less orders resulting in job losses. We have a
cycle of decline when we are not in a position to trade on
successfully with each other.

"We are anxious to see that we take a decision at G20
summit to have a monitoring mechanism about protectionism,"
the British Prime Minister said.

Brown, who embarks on a diplomatic offensive today to
win support for his plans to boost the recession-hit world
economy, had a lengthy telephonic talk with President Barack
Obama last evening on issues that would come up at the G20
summit. The two leaders also touched upon Iran, Pakistan and
Afghanistan.

Brown will give a speech at the European Parliament in
Strasbourg about the financial crisis before flying to New
York for a meeting with UN chief Ban Ki-Moon and then to Latin
America for talks with leaders in Brazil and Chile.

In Brazil, Brown will have talks with President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva, and in Chile he will take part in a
summit of centre-left leaders and meet President Michelle
Bachelet. PTI