“It is heartening to note that we have been able to conclude a framework for the India-US cyber relationship, the first of its kind both for India and the US, with any other country”, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in her opening remarks at the strategic and commercial dialogue.
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August 31: Hailing the joint statement of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on the involvement of Pakistan in encouraging terrorism, the Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday expressed hope that America changes its relative neutrality policy with Islamabad.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker began two days of talks on Tuesday with the Indian government to boost business ties, and to encourage dialogue with Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir.
Swaraj said the two sides had agreed on the “urgent necessity for Pakistan to disable safe havens and terrorist networks” and “on the need to Pakistan to do more to bring the perpetrators of (the two attacks) to justice quickly”.
Mr Kerry said he had spoken with both Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and its Army Chief Gen. Raheel Sharif “regarding the need to deprive any (terror) group of sanctuary even as he made it clear that the Haqqani network (that carries out terror attacks in Afghanistan) is operating from Pakistani soil”. While applauding India’s developmental efforts in Afghanistan, Kerry, pointed out that a stable Afghanistan is in the interests of not just the United States and India but also Pakistan. Terrorism is terrorism. We stand fully behind the Indian demand that there be justice with respect to the Mumbai attacks, with respect to other.
“That is true of everybody”. Anywhere in the world.
In an address to students of Delhi’s Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kerry said that terror groups like Daesh, al-Qaeda, LeT and JeM can’t be fought by a single nation alone.
The two countries also agreed to restart a three-way dialogue with Afghanistan over its future and signed an agreement to combat and counter cyberattacks.
She said both Indiaand the United States have agreed to look at best practices exchange. We have also strengthened our cooperation in the area of peacekeeping. Our open and diverse societies are committed to peace.
US Secretary of State John Kerry painted what has surely emerged in the past few years as the new face of American foreign policy.
“The forces that seek to undermine our progress and our ways of life require our comprehensive and robust response”. “The United States recognizes the enormous contribution of foreign workers to our economy, including workers from India”.
“A few small percentage is holding the majority to ransom”, he added. As I said, there is no good terrorists, bad terrorists.
In an illustration of the burgeoning cooperation, Kerry announced plans to revive trilateral talks between India, Afghanistan and the United States.
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The move to hold the trilateral meet may further isolate Pakistan, which is already seething after Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of atrocities and human rights violations in Balochistan.
