Cameron meets president, discusses trade, terror

British Prime Minister David Cameron today met President Pratibha Patil and discussed a host of bilateral issues, including trade, counter-terrorism and cultural ties, on the final day of his maiden visit to India after assuming office.

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday met President Pratibha Patil and discussed a host of bilateral issues, including trade, counter-terrorism and cultural ties, on the final day of his maiden visit to India after assuming office.

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The 43-year-old Cameron, the youngest British prime minister in almost 200 years, was accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rahstrapati Bahavan on Thursday morning.

He kicked off his official engagements with a meeting with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna. They held talks on a spectrum of bilateral, regional and global issues, including the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, UN reforms, trade ties and civil nuclear cooperation.

Cameron, who began his 48-hour visit to India from Bangalore Tuesday night, has identified three key issues -- business, global security and climate issues -- that, he has stressed, will form the pillars of "a deeper and wider relationship" with India.

These issues will be discussed prominently when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh holds delegation-level talks with Cameron Thursday evening.

A cultural agreement is expected to be signed after the talks. This will be the first such pact with Britain and will entail "sharing of information, organizing events in each other's countries, exchange of scholars and organizing seminars, exhibitions and performing events".

In Bangalore, Cameron unleashed a charm offensive and spoke glowingly about Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and iconic cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as among the cultural bonds India and Britain share.

Keeping strong Indian sensitivities on the issue of terror, he warned Pakistan that it should stop "exporting" terror to its neighbourhood.