This Article is From Jan 29, 2019

Christian Michel's Extradition Was Expedited Due To Close Ties: UAE Envoy

UAE Ambassador to India Ahmed Al Banna said the two countries have a robust security collaboration and have signed an agreement for it as well.

Christian Michel's Extradition Was Expedited Due To Close Ties: UAE Envoy

Christian Michel was extradited to India by the UAE in the AgustaWestland chopper deal.

New Delhi:

Weeks after alleged AgustaWestland chopper deal middleman Christian Michel was extradited to India from the UAE, the Gulf country's envoy said due to the closeness in security ties some times things that do not happen in a year, are done in one day.

UAE Ambassador to India Ahmed Al Banna, at a press conference, said the two countries have a robust security collaboration and have signed an agreement for it as well.

Asked how the extradition of Michel was done within days after he had said in New Delhi that the process may take time, Al Banna said: "The very important strategic ties and the personal touch in the relationship...that sometimes makes things, that don''t happen in one year, happen in one day."

Michel, 57, was brought to India in December following his extradition by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in connection with the chopper deal case.

He is one of the three middlemen -- the two others Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa -- being probed by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate in the case. Michel has denied the charges.

The UAE envoy, in his remarks, asserted that India-UAE bilateral relations were at "its peak" with several high-level visits from both sides reflecting the closeness in ties.

Asked why UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan had not visited India, the envoy said he was not in good health, but stressed that India inviting the crown prince to be chief guest in 2017 had shown the importance attached to ties.

.