Prisoner-swap deal to help cement UAE-India ties

In a bid to cement bilateral ties, India and the UAE on Wednesday signed two major politically and economically significant agreements. Lt General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram signed the two accords — the first one on transfer of prisoners to jails in their own countries and the second on security cooperation. According to highly placed sources in India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA): "The agreement on transfer of sentenced people provides the framework to facilitate their social rehabilitation in their respective countries by giving citizens, who have been convicted and sentenced the opportunity to serve the sentence in their own society. Significantly, this will pave the way for more than 1,200 Indian prisoners lodged in various UAE jails to serve the rest of their terms back home. "Indians who have been sentenced will have a choice of spending the remaining part of their term in India, provided it is more than six months," the sources added. Discussions on the agreement were concluded between the two countries a few months ago. There is already an extradition treaty between them, and people arrested in criminal cases are exchanged regularly through formal and informal channels. The second agreement, on security cooperation, would go a long way in dealing with drug trafficking, organised criminal groups and illicit trade in weapons, ammunition and explosives. It also actively encourages initiatives on training of police personnel. A large number of Indians are imprisoned in the UAE for possession of drugs and finance-related crimes. However, there is only one UAE national serving time in an Indian jail. Ties rooted in history Meanwhile, Shaikh Saif who arrived in India on Tuesday, said during his meeting yesterday that relations between India and the UAE are rooted deep in history. "The relations that started long ago are thriving until today. The trade ties between India and the UAE continue to be a model for cooperation, understanding and respect for mutual interests," he added. He stressed that the two countries are able to continue their strong ties and look forward together to a better tomorrow for themselves and for the rest of the world. Explaining the provisions of the transfer of prisoners pact signed yesterday, the sources in India's MEA said "it will apply to those prisoners who have already been convicted and not to under-trials". "Any Indian sentenced in the UAE, who is to be transferred to an Indian jail, should have a minimum of six months of jail term left and there should not be any pending case against him," an MEA source added. "The pact between India and the UAE on security cooperation seeks to strengthen and develop the existing bilateral framework and mechanism to enhance ties in areas such as combating terrorism in all its forms," the MEA said. Enhance cooperation In a bid to enhance cooperation to fight organised crime, Shaikh Saif and Chidambaram also discussed issues pertaining to money laundering, bilateral security cooperation and capacity building. Both countries stressed their commitment to stepping up cooperation in investigation of mutually relevant criminal cases and sharing of relevant information.