New Delhi, July 17: Security was tightened Friday across India’s financial hub of Mumbai where United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was due to begin her India tour aimed at enhancing strategic partnership between the two countries.
Clinton, who was scheduled to arrive in Mumbai Friday night, will stay in the Taj Hotel that bore the brunt of militant attacks last November, as a gesture of solidarity with India’s fight against terrorism.
Mumbai, capital of western state of Maharashtra, was attacked by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militants who reached the metropolis via sea and killed 166 people in key locations in the city.
Over the last few days, regional police have stepped up security across the city following warnings of a possible terrorist attack.
The Taj Hotel, situated in southern Mumbai, has been turned into a fortress, with the entire floor where Clinton is staying being cordoned off and background checks being conducted on hotel guests, the PTI news agency reported.
Some 200 policemen have been deployed around the hotel while bomb disposal squads will carry out routine checks of areas Clinton is expected to visit, police officials said.
On her first official trip to India, Clinton is scheduled to begin her engagements on Saturday morning when she will offer a remembrance to the victims of the attack.
Although authorities said her programme was not yet finalized, it is widely expected that her engagements could include brief visits to some attack sites and meeting victims.
She will be meeting with top business leaders and voluntary women groups before leaving for the national capital New Delhi on Sunday.
On Monday, Clinton is due to hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the minister of external affairs, Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna on a wide gamut of bilateral, regional and international affairs.
“Clinton and Krishna will discuss an “enhanced US-India strategic partnership that will enable us to advance solutions to the defining challenges of our time,” US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.
The US and India are also working on following through on a landmark agreement finalized last year allowing US firms to provide nuclear material and technology to India for use in generating energy for non-military purposes.
Indian authorities are expected to announce two sites where US companies can build nuclear power plants, reports in the local media said.
The battle against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as New Delhi’s resumption of peace talks with Pakistan will also be discussed, Indian officials said.
Clinton has said climate change will also be on the agenda for talks. The US views India and China as key toward combating greenhouse gases, but the two countries have been unwilling to sign on to stringent measures.
Clinton will wrap up her five-day India tour on Tuesday when she flies off to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathering in Phuket, Thailand. She will visit Bangkok before heading to the resort town for the July 22-23 meeting.
—-Agencies