AMN /
India and US have agreed to increase their level of cooperation to fight the menace of terrorism. In a joint declaration issued in Washington last night, both the countries have recognized the threat posed by terrorist groups like Laskhar-e- Tyeba and other organisations operating from save havens.
India and the US reiterated the threat posed by entities such as Al-Qa’ida and its affiliates, Lashkar-e-Tayibba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, D Company, Haqqani Network, and other regional groups that seek to undermine stability in South Asia. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that both the countries have asked Pakistan that it must bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
Mrs Swaraj and US Secretary of State John Kerry co-chaired the first India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue at Washington yesterday. Mrs Swaraj said that as per the joint statement issued at the culmination of the Dialogue, the two countries agreed to deepen their ties in the fields of Defence, Security, Internet Governance, Energy, Climate Changes, Science and Technology among others.
Mrs Swaraj emphasized the convergence in India’s Act East policy and US policy of rebalance Asia. She said, this issue was discussed in the Strategic and Commercial Dialogue between the two countries. Our special correspondent reports that both the countries have also agreed to launch a high level dialogue between the Foreign Secretary of India and the US deputy Secretary of State on regional and global issues.
India and the US also agreed to move forward on India’s membership of APEC and US support for inclusion of India in the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The joint declaration also dealt with issues relating to India’s greater participation in internet governance bodies like ICANN.
Both the countries have agreed for closer consultation in preparation for the climate change meeting COP 21 which will take place in Paris later this year. The Strategic and Commercial Dialogue marks another land mark in the fast maturing and strong relationship between the two great democracies of the world.