Ranchi, April 20: A strategic partnership between India and Britain can help wipe out polio in a span of two years, British high commissioner Michael Arthur assured today.

?We are working on four areas with India: primary education, polio eradication, AIDS prevention and poverty alleviation,? he said at a news conference, which was also addressed by deputy high commissioner Andrew Neil Hall.

Earlier today, the British high commissioner met chief minister Arjun Munda, chief secretary P.P. Sharma and other secretaries to explore the possibility of UK-based companies investing in the state?s mining sector and fossil-based fuel industries. However, no concrete deal was made.

Arthur said: ?Today?s meeting has paved the way for a continued and sustained process of dialogue over partnership on industrial and business fronts here.?

UK?s stake in Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, the primary education project, is about ? 2.10 million pounds. ?The project, which targets a 100 per cent literacy in India, has been envisaged as a collaborative effort for four years,? he said.

Asked if the British authorities would monitor the progress of the scheme and ensure the money is pumped into the project, he said: ?For that we would rely on the agencies employed by the government of India.?

Britain, Arthur said, has also contributed ? 100 million to the health sector with a view to eradicate polio and about ? 50 million hasbeen spared for reproductive and child health.

?We are working towards AIDS prevention and have contributed ? 123 million pound. Through different government agencies, work on these health fronts have been in progress,? he said. The fourth area of collaboration, Arthur said, is poverty alleviation. ?We have identified about 100 poorest districts in Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal, where we have been working with the NGOs, helping the people form self-help groups and work in groups to generate income,? he said.