New Delhi: India and Germany will strengthen their bilateral and multilateral cooperation to combat terrorism and extremism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday after holding extensive talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on enhancing ties in strategic areas, including defence, artificial intelligence and energy security.
The two leaders, who co-chaired the fifth Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC), also called on nations to ensure that their territory is not used for terror activities against other countries, in a veiled message to Pakistan.
Asked if the leaders discussed the situation in Kashmir, sources said it was not raised during the IGC. The Modi-Merkel meeting comes amidst concerns expressed by some foreign lawmakers, including from the US, over restrictions imposed by the government post abrogation of Article 370 to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in August.
“We will strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation to deal with dangers such as terrorism and extremism,” Modi said in a statement at a joint media event with Merkel. A joint statement, issued after Modi and Merkel talks, emphasised on strengthening counter-terrorism cooperation and called for a stronger international partnership in combating the “global scourge”.
It also called upon all countries to work towards rooting out terrorist safe havens and infrastructure, disrupting terrorist networks and financing channels and halting cross border movement of terrorists.
“They emphasised the need for stronger international partnership in countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism, including through increased sharing of information and intelligence and in full compliance with the rule of law and international law, including human rights law and international humanitarian law,” it said.
Underlining the need for all countries to ensure that their territory is not used for terror activities against other countries, the two leaders stressed the importance of the combined effort of all countries to fight global terrorism and to send out a consistent message that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is not acceptable to the international community.
They also called for the finalisation and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) in March 2020.
UNSC reforms
Asserting that bringing urgent reforms in the UN Security Council is central to safeguarding and strengthening the multilateral rules-based order, India and Germany reiterated their full support to each other’s candidatures for a permanent seat in a reformed and expanded UNSC.
“The lack of representativeness of the Security Council at the heart of the international order for international peace and security affects the legitimacy of its decisions and its effectiveness.
In light of the global challenges we are facing, we need strong, legitimate and effective United Nations,” said a Joint Statement issued at the end of bilateral meeting between Modi and Merkel.
The two leaders also underlined the steadfast efforts of the G-4 and other reform-oriented countries and groups in moving towards initiation of text-based negotiations on the Security Council reform to be initiated during the 74th session of the UN General Assembly. (Agencies)
