The United States and India agreed Tuesday to boost counterterrorism cooperation by expanding intelligence sharing about known or suspected extremists and terrorist threats.
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External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and USA secretary of state John Kerry in New Delhi on Tuesday.
US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, who is taking part in the talks in Delhi, has said the idea of increasing two-way trade from US$100 billion to US$500 billion was ambitious.
A senior United States official said Kerry would urge Prime Minister Modi in a meeting on Wednesday to open talks with Pakistan to defuse tension.
“I thanked Secretary Kerry for the USA constant support for India’s membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)”.
Both the countries also agreed that Pakistan needs to take swift action to catch the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the Pathankot attack.
In a strong message to Pakistan, the US and India on Tuesday said there can not be good or bad terrorists and Islamabad should withdraw safe havens provided to terror groups. “No nation should adopt double standards on terrorism such as differentiating between good terrorists and bad terrorists”, she said.
“It is vital that Pakistan join with other nations in fighting this challenge”, Kerry told a news conference, saying he had been in touch with Pakistan’s civilian and military leaders on terrorism and noting progress in counter-terrorism operations in the west of the country.
She said both sides discussed at length the issue of terrorism, which is the key challenge to the global community, and the foremost threat to worldwide peace and security.
US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter and his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar sealed the pact in efforts to strengthen defence ties to counter concerns over China’s growing military assertiveness.
Echoing the Indian foreign minister’s remark, Kerry also said that the U.S. can’t and won’t make a distinction between good and bad terrorists.
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.
The US Secretary of State, on his part, said both sides were committed to the joint cyber framework.
Kerry said the United States continued to support all efforts to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai and Pathankot terror attacks to justice.
“I apprised Secretary John Kerry of cross border terrorism by Pakistan”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with French President Francois Hollande had launched the ISA during the Paris Summit.
Kerry indicated that the trilateral talks may “perhaps also seek the resolution to this challenge” – India has long wanted to play a more active part in bringing peace to Afghanistan and has long anxious about USA dependence on Pakistan.
“We have agreed to work together to strengthen the National Unity Government in Afghanistan”, Swaraj said.
She also said they have made a decision to widen the consultations to more effectively address the rapidly evolving regional and global situation.
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She announced that next year’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit would be held in India and it would be co-hosted by the US.
