India, Saudi to speed up fight against terror

riyadh — India and Saudi Arabia on Sunday agreed to further strengthen cooperation in the fight against terror and called upon all states to reject the use of terrorism against other countries.

“The two leaders agreed to further strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism, both at the bilateral level and within the multilateral system of the UN,” said a joint statement issued after delegation-level talks here led by visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia.

Sunday was the second and final day of Prime Minister Modi’s

visit to the Gulf kingdom.

“The two leaders called upon the international community to strengthen multilateral regimes to effectively address the challenges posed by terrorism,” the statement said.

Both leaders totally rejected “any attempt to link this universal phenomenon to any particular race, religion or culture”.

“They called on all states to reject the use of terrorism against other countries; dismantle terrorism infrastructures where they happen to exist and to cut off any kind of support and financing to the terrorists operating and perpetrating terrorism from their territories against other states; and bring perpetrators of acts of terrorism to justice,” the statement said.

Both sides agreed to work together towards the adoption of the India-initiated Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) in the UN.

The Indian side was also briefed on Saudi Arabia’s initiative in bringing together an Islamic alliance of 34 countries against terrorism.

Acknowledging the strong bilateral security cooperation, the two leaders agreed to enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism operations, intelligence sharing and capacity-building and to strengthen cooperation in law enforcement, anti-money laundering, drug-trafficking and other transnational crimes.

Modi and King Salman discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest, including the security situation in West Asia, Middle East and South Asia, in the light of their common interest in the regional and global peace, security and stability.

“The two leaders agreed to enhance cooperation to strengthen maritime security in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean regions, vital for the security and prosperity of both countries,” the joint statement said.

Modi and King Salman also agreed to promote cooperation in cyber security, including prevention of use of cyber space for terrorism, radicalisation and for disturbing social harmony.

In the field of energy cooperation, both leaders agreed to transform the current buyer-seller relationship to one of deeper partnership focusing on investment and joint ventures in petrochemical complexes, and cooperation in joint exploration in India, Saudi Arabia and in third countries, according to the statement. —