UK Foreign Office minister Mark Field will embark on a two-day visit to India next week to hold talks on cyber security.Field will visit New Delhi and Chennai next Tuesday as part of his first tour of the country as the minister for Asia and the Pacific in the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). “The UK-India relationship is thriving and I am delighted to pay my first visit to India since becoming a minister. As modern, diverse democracies, the UK and India are united by common values, history and connections and a shared stake in each other’s future prosperity, security and success,” he said in a statement. In New Delhi, the minister will deliver a keynote speech at CyFy, a flagship conference on cyber internet governance and security organised by the think-tank ORF.
He will also hold meetings with Minister for Information and Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad and Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar. “The UK and India are natural partners in cyber security and we are committed to working with India to share best practise and threat analysis, as well as train and grow our cyber experts for the future,” Field said. He added that he is keen to discuss how the UK can work “ever closer” with India as the most populous country in the Commonwealth and tackle global challenges together.The minister will also visit the BBC World Service offices as it expands its broadcasting into Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi and Telugu, and will meet the Director General of the BBC, Lord Hall of Birkenhead, who is also on a visit to India.
At the British Council in New Delhi, Field will interact with young filmmakers followed by a discussion with some of India’s Next Generation leaders, the UK Foreign Office said.On Wednesday, he will travel to Chennai, where he will call on the chief secretary of the Tamil Nadu governmentLater in the day, he will also visit a school project run by the British Council to meet students and understand how British Council support education in India. From India, Field will embark on a visit to Colombo in Sri Lanka.
