India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) came out strongly against use of terrorism as an “instrument of state policy” by certain countries and called for concerted global efforts to deal with the menace.
In a joint statement issued following the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, India and UAE have resolved to expand cooperation to fight terror.
The statement said states must control activities of ‘non-state actors’ and cut all support to terror outfits operating from their soil while strongly condemning use of religion to justify, support and sponsor the menace. Growing phenomenon of religious intolerance and radicalisation was also discussed and the two leaders pitched for efforts to check these, while agreeing to take steps to contain these bilaterally.
The two sides agreed to bolster strategic ties by working closely on a range of security issues, particularly counter-terrorism, maritime security, and cyber-security. They reaffirmed their respect for the “bedrock principles” of national sovereignty and non-interference.
On dealing with terrorism, they deplored the “use of double standards” in addressing the challenge and agreed to strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism both at the bilateral level and within the multilateral system.
The two leaders strongly condemned extremism and terrorism in all of their forms and manifestations, irrespective of who the perpetrators are and of their motivations. They reiterated that any justification for terrorism and any link between extremism or terrorism and religion should be strongly rejected by the international community. Condemning efforts, including by states, to use religion to justify, support and sponsor terrorism against other countries, or to use terrorism as instrument of state policy, the leaders deplored efforts by countries to give religious and sectarian colour to political issues and pointed out the responsibility of all states to control the activities of the so-called ‘non-state actors’, and to cut all support to terrorists operating and perpetrating terrorism from their territories against other states.
The joint statement said the Indian side expressed deep appreciation for the solidarity expressed by the UAE on the issue of Pathankot terrorist attack.
The UAE, which has a sovereign wealth fund of around $800 billion, also expressed keen interest in boosting trade ties with India, particularly in investing in sectors like oil, railways, roads, ports and shipping.
With a view to ensuring that the cyberspace remains a safe and secure space which would not be used as a medium to promote subversive and extremist ideologies, the two sides agreed to cooperate on sharing technical best practices in the field of information and communications technologies. In the area of defence cooperation, the two sides decided to identify opportunities to cooperate on the production of defence equipment in India.