HC Deb 24 April 2001 vol 367 c234W
Mr. Quentin Davies

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings he has had with his Indian counterpart in the past year. [157745]

Mr. Hoon

George Fernandes, the former Indian Defence Minister, and I met on two occasions in the past year. Our first meeting was during his official visit to the UK in June 2000, the second was during my visit to India last December as a guest of the Indian Government.

I have also met the new Defence Minister, Jaswant Singh, three times in the past year, in his capacity as Foreign Minister.

Mr. Quentin Davies

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Ministry of Defence staff are based in India in connection with procurement and disposal programmes. [157747]

Mr. Hoon

Service and civilian Ministry of Defence staff based at the British High Commission in New Delhi have a role in promoting UK procurement and disposal programmes as a part of their wider responsibilities.

Mr. Quentin Davies

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many visits have been made by Defence Procurement Agency personnel to India in the past two years. [157744]

Mr. Hoon

During the period 6 April 1999 to 5 April 2001, no duty visits were made by Defence Procurement Agency personnel to India.

Mr. Quentin Davies

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which former Royal Navy warships are in service with the Indian Navy; and what the date was of their commission into the Royal Navy. [157746]

Mr. Spellar

There are two former RN ships currently in service with the Indian Navy. They are:

  1. (i) Ex HMS Hermes (renamed INS Viraat), a Hermes Class aircraft carrier.
  2. (ii) Ex HMS Andromeda (renamed INS Krishna), a Leander Class frigate that was converted to a Training Ship for IN operations.
HMS Hermes and HMS Andromeda were originally commissioned into RN service in November 1959 and December 1968 respectively.