As Foreign Ministers of India and the United Arab Emirates discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday sought support on choking of funds to terror groups and prevention of money laundering. India also pressed for extradition of ‘certain individuals’ from UAE who are wanted in India.
Swaraj with her UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan chaired the meeting of Joint Commission to review the entire gamut of ties with focus on key areas of investment and trade.
The two sides signed five MoUs in the areas of higher education, telecommunications and tourism.
According to Anil Wadhwa, Secretary (East) in Ministry of External Affairs, the two sides discussed subjects under seven sub-committees in areas like, trade and commerce, investments, energy, petrochemicals, Defence, security, combating crime, immigration and Indian community-related issues.
Sushma took up the labour-related issues of Indian workers in UAE. These include conditions of payments, holding of passports by employers in illegal manner, model contract and transfer of labour from India to other countries. Sushma also requested UAE for timely sharing of information about arrest or detention of Indian nationals so that necessary consular services could be extended to them.
Wadhwa said UAE is in favour of early finalisation of India-proposed Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the United Nations and has assured that it will find “ways and means” to encourage other countries to reach a consensus. UAE’s support on CCIT is significant given the proposal has been stuck in UN due to opposition from several OIC countries, including Pakistan, who do not agree with the definition of terror and terrorists.