UK Minister Mark Field to discuss cyber security, Commonwealth during India visit

Mark Field, Minister for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, will pay his first visit to India as a minister on 3-4 October 2017.

Mr. Field will visit New Delhi and Chennai. In New Delhi he will deliver the keynote speech at CyFy, a flagship conference on cyber internet governance and security organised by the leading think tank ORF. He will also meet Minister for Information and Technology, Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, and Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr. M J Akbar.

The minister will 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 visiting India. He will meet young film makers at the British Council in New Delhi, followed by a discussion with some of India's Next Generation leaders.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Mr. Field said: "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. 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."

"During my visit, I also look forward to discussing how we can work ever closer with India as the most populous country in the Commonwealth, and how we can tackle together the global challenges we face," he added.

Mr.Field will travel to Chennai on 4 October, where he will call on the Chief Secretary of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Later in the day, Mr. Field will also visit a school project run by the British Council to meet students and understand how British Council support education in India.

Mr. Field will then travel to Colombo, Sri Lanka.