India, Spain call for ‘zero tolerance’ to terrorism

‘States backing terror should be subjected to global laws’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with King Felipe VI of Spain at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid on Wednesday.

India and Spain on Wednesday stressed that there should be “zero tolerance” to terrorism and called on the international community to end “selective or partial” approaches in combating the menace which posed the gravest threat to international peace and stability.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the first Indian PM to visit Spain since 1992, met the European country’s top leaders and they stressed that states and entities which encourage, support, finance terrorism, provide sanctuary to terrorists and glorify terrorism should be subjected to international laws, including restrictive measures.

Mr. Modi held wide-ranging talks with Spanish President Mariano Rajoy at the Moncloa Palace and invited Spanish firms to invest in India which offered “many opportunities” for them in various fields.

After the talks, the two sides signed seven agreements, including pacts on transfer of sentenced persons and visa waiver for holders of diplomatic passports.

Five MoUs

Five MoUs were signed between the two countries on cooperation in organ transplantation, cybersecurity, renewable energy, civil aviation and one between India’s Foreign Service Institute and Diplomatic Academy of Spain.

The two sides also issued a joint statement in which the two leaders welcomed the recent positive developments in bilateral trade and investment partnership, buoyed by the positive economic outlook and called for stronger ties between the businesses of the two nations.

Spain is the 12th largest investor in India and the seventh largest trading partner in the EU. There are more than 200 Spanish companies in India that are actively involved in road construction, railways, wind power, defence and smart cities.