India freezes up bilateral co-op with Denmark

"The Danish ambassador in New Delhi has been told that all cooperation with Denmark is frozen, " Lene Espersen told Danish news agency Ritzau.

A report carried Tuesday by Indian daily the Indian Express said India's Ministry of Finance has said that all projects and discussions with Denmark will now require "prior consultation" with its foreign ministry, Ritzau added.

Espersen confirmed to Ritzau that the boycott stems from Denmark's failure to secure the extradition of Niels Holck, a Danish national, who is responsible for airlifting weapons to a rebel group in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, in 1995.

India had asked Denmark to extradite 49-year-old Holck, who is also known to Indian authorities by the name Kim Davy, to face trial in India.

However, the plea was overturned first by a Danish city court and then by the High Court in June 2011.

The case was dismissed on the grounds that Holck would risk torture or other inhumane treatment in an Indian prison.

Denmark's public prosecutor subsequently decided that it would be futile to refer the case to the country's Supreme Court.

"It is a clearly negative development where the Indians have signalled they have no interest in going forward together," Espersen told Ritzau.

Espersen was particularly concerned as India is "an extremely important partner" for Denmark.

In fact, India is an important export market for Danish goods, especially in the fields of green technology, treatment of waste water, equipment for airports and agriculture, she said.

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