India, Central Asian republics call for destruction of terror safe havens

Delhi announces an additional $1 billion Line of Credit for the region

Updated - October 28, 2020 11:57 pm IST - NEW DELHI

S. Jaishankar.

S. Jaishankar.

The Central Asian republics joined India on Wednesday in demanding destruction of “safe havens” of terrorism. The second meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue jointly expressed support for the peace negotiations in Afghanistan which is expected to usher in a new age for the war-torn country.

Also read: India has joined Afghan peace process at the right time, should engage Taliban directly: Hamid Karzai

“The Ministers strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reaffirmed the determination of their countries to combat this menace by destroying terrorist safe-havens, networks, infrastructure and funding channels. They also underlined the need for every country to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terrorist attacks against other countries,” said a Joint Statement issued after the meeting.

Delivering his opening remarks, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar described the Central Asian region as India’s “extended neighbourhood”. Among the key takeaways from the meeting was the announcement of an additional $1 billion Line of Credit by India for the Central Asian countries. It is expected that the money will be spent for major infrastructural and connectivity projects.

The Joint Statement highlighted the appreciation from the Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the First Deputy Foreign Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic for India’s “efforts to modernise the infrastructure of the Chabahar port in Iran, which could become an important link in trade and transport communications between the markets of Central and South Asia”.

Also read |  Another Afghan peace push and a role for India

The meeting also led to the announcement of grant financing by India for high impact community development projects in the countries. It also led to the establishment of working groups by India Central Asia Business Council comprising the key Chambers of all participating countries.

Apart from Dr. Jaishankar, the meeting was attended by his counterparts Mukhtar Tleuberdi (Kazakhstan), Sirodjiddin Muhriddin (Tajikistan), Rashid Meredov (Turkmenistan), Abdulaziz Kamilov (Uzbekistan) and First Deputy Foreign Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Nuran Niyazaliev.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.