“But there is one country in India’s neighbourhood whose competitive advantage rests exclusively in producing and exporting terrorism”, the Prime Minister said.
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THE NEW British visa policy could have a “negative impact” on business visits by Indian professionals, India’s prime minister Narendra Modi told his United Kingdom counterpart Theresa May on Monday (September 5) when they met at the G20 summit in China this week.
In his address to the ASEAN-India Summit, Modi called sea lanes as “life lines of global trade” and said securing the seas was a shared responsibility. In his speech at the East Asia Summit in Vientiane, capital of Laos, which had the likes of US President Barack Obama among the audience, Modi warned of “competing geo-politics, traditional and non-traditional challenges” threatening peace in the region. Combating it requires collective effort.
The Prime Minister also noted that growing radicalism and spread of extreme violence are other security threats. Asean and India also supported the early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, now under negotiation at the United Nations.
The South China Sea disputes should likewise be resolved peacefully, he said, adding that Singapore’s position is “well-enunciated and unchanged”.
India’s engagement with ASEAN and the wider Asia Pacific Region has acquired further momentum following the enunciation of the Act East Policy by the Prime Minister.
The leaders then approved the Vientiane Declaration on Promoting Infrastructure Development Cooperation in East Asia, and the EAS Declaration on Strengthening Responses to Migrants in Crisis and Trafficking in Persons.
Modi stressed that enhancing connectivity is at the heart of India’s strategic partnership with ASEAN.
In his remarks on Thursday, the Prime Minister said that ASEAN is central to India’s Act East policy.
Stating that the countries have to be mindful of common security challenges, he said India would organise the second East Asia Conference on maritime security and cooperation later this year.
In his address at the BRICS Leaders meeting, Modi said “We, as BRICS, are an influential voice in worldwide discourse.It is, therefore, our shared responsibility to shape the global agenda”.
Both leaders reviewed the immediate priorities in the strategic partnership.
Bambawale referred to Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s and Modi’s visits to Islamabad and Lahore respectively in December past year.
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A simmering war of words between Pakistan and India heated up on Thursday when Islamabad accused New Delhi of sponsoring and financing terrorism in South Asia.
