Eighty-six-year-old Janata Dal (Secular) national president H.D. Deve Gowda, who has hardly ever travelled out of the country after his tenure as the Prime Minister, seems to be on a spree of foreign tours these days.
In the last three months, he has visited London, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain. He is currently in Nepal.
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Delivering the keynote address at the Asia-Pacific Summit held in Kathmandu on the issue of ‘Addressing the critical challenges of our time: Interdependence, mutual prosperity and universal values’, Mr. Gowda on Saturday underlined the urgent need to give effect to the draft document of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
He regretted that the draft document on the CCIT, proposed by India in 1996 when he was the Prime Minister, aimed at criminalising all forms of international terrorism, their financiers, and supporters, has remained a draft. He said, “We need more stringent and concrete actions to thwart the financing of terrorism world over and bring the perpetrators and the sponsors to accountability through international law”.
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In October, for the first time after 21 years, Mr. Gowda visited London and participated as the chief guest at the Global Achievers Conclave held at the House of Commons of the British Parliament. The conclave was organised by the NRI Welfare Society of India.
In November, Mr. Gowda visited Bahrain and interacted with the Indian community. He also laid the foundation stone for a Kannada Bhavan on the Kannada Sangha premises in Manama. His wife, Chennamma, also accompanied him during the visit.