AMN
Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned home from Riyadh Saudi Arab, after completing the final leg of his three nation six day tour. In Riyadh, Mr Modi inked five MoUs with Saudi Arab covering hosts of issues of mutual interests. Mr Modi and Shah Salman both expressed strong condemnation of the phenomenon of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, irrespective of who the perpetrators were and of their motivations.
Saudi Arabia and India on Sunday signed five major agreements, including one on terror financing, following wide-ranging talks between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The talks between the two leaders focused on ways to expand strategic cooperation in a range of areas such as trade, investment and counter-terrorism.
The king briefed Modi on his initiative in bringing together 34 countries to form a powerful Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism, as the two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in fighting the menace.
Speaking on the occasion, King Salman pledged to look at other trajectories of bilateral ties that will eventually strengthen the strategic relations between the Kingdom and India.
The king, while referring to the regional issues, said: “We appreciate India’s interest in the region as well as its keenness on supporting the stability of the Middle East.”
He added: “We hope that the international efforts will finally resolve the Syrian crisis, and peace and security will also prevail in Yemen.”
Affirming that the menace of extremism and terrorism threatens all nations and societies, the two leaders rejected totally 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 two leaders agreed to further strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism, both at the bilateral level and within the multilateral system of the UN. They called upon the international community to strengthen multilateral regimes to effectively address the challenges posed by terrorism. Acknowledging and commending their 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.
They welcomed the signing of an MoU on cooperation in exchange of intelligence related to money laundering, related crimes and terrorism financing. The two sides further agreed to take action against illegal transfer of money. Among the total of five MoUs, inked between the two nations, one on labour cooperation has especial significance to Indians working in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier in the first leg, Mr Modi visited Belgium where he took part in India EU summit and also held biletreral talks with his Belgian counterpart.
He condemned the recent Brussels terror attacks and stressed to work together against the menace of terrorism. In the second leg, the Prime Minister visited Washington in US to take part in Nuclear Security Summit. Addressing the summit, the Mr Modi stressed the need to remain on high vigil to combat nuclear terrorism and emphasized his government’s continued priority to nuclear safety by strengthening institutional framework. He said, India has been adhering to international obligations on nuclear safety through actions at national level.
New Delhi also announced a contribution of 1 million US dollars to Nuclear Security Fund of International Atomic Energy Agency. The Prime Minister also met several world leaders in Washington.