India, Turkey to enhance cooperation in fight against terrorism | NetIndian | India News | Latest News from India | Breaking News from India | Latest Headlines
India and Turkey today decided to enhance their cooperation in the global fight against terrorism and agreed to work together with other like-minded states for the finalisation of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the earliest.
In a Joint Declaration on Terrorism issued here during the state visit of Turkish President Abdullah Gul, the two countries tasked their officials to work towards developing an action plan with timelines and specific measures.
For this purpose, the officials will take into account the existing structures of cooperation such as the Joint Working Group against Terrorism.
The declaration recognised that terrorism posed a grave threat to global peace and security and noted that the forces of terrorism were nourished by extremist ideologies.
They stressed that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group and recognised further that terrorism sought to weaken, in particular, democratic societies and polities that are based on the rule of law and committed to inclusive growth.
The two countries denounced those who sponsor, abet and instigate terrorism and provide them safe havens and affirmed their common commitment to fight terrorism.
They recognised that their counter-terrorism efforts constitute an important part of the international community's efforts to eradicate terrorism and called upon all countries to comply with all the provisions of international counter-terrorism conventions and protocols as well as other related international instruments and strengthen international cooperation in this regard.
The declaration said the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism was a vital component of the international legal framework in the global struggle against terrorism and calling on the international community to conclude the Convention without further delay.
Mr Gul arrived here on February 7 on a five-day visit for talks on ways of forging closer ties between the two countries.
He is accompanied on the visit by his wife, Ms Hayrunnisa Gul, Mr Mehmet Aydin, State Minister and co-Chairman of the Joint Economic Commission, Dr Recep Akdag, Minister of Health, Mr Binali Yildirim, Minister of Transportation, members of Parliament, senior officials and businessmen.
Mr Gul met President Pratibha Patil and Vice-President M Hamid Ansari and held delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Mr Gul will also visit Agra and Mumbai before flying back home.
Dr Singh was assisted at today's talks by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Mr T K A Nair, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.
An official statement said later the two sides had cordial discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Dr Singh said that Mr Gul's visit to India, so soon after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit in November, 2008, was an important milestone to review the state of the bilateral relations and to chart a forward-llokg agenda for advancing the multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries.
"We believe that our relations stand on their own footing, and should be progressed in that spirit," he said.
He said bilateral relations were far below their true potential, despite several frameworks and mechanisms in place and two-way trade crossing $ 3 billion in 2008, and felt the two countries were ready for a much deeper and robust partnership.
In this context, he referred to the Joint Study Group for a Compressive Free Trade Agreement that held its first meeting in New Delhi last month. Welcoming the increased participation of Turkish companies in infrastructural projects in India, he called for expanding cooperation in areas such as science & technology, culture, education and tourism.
Mr Gul said the two countries were rediscovering each other and that the frequent high-level exchanges, including his own visit, was a reflection of the political will to work closely with India on political, economic, science & technology and cultural fronts. He underlined that the special relationship between Turkey and Pakistan does not in any way create obstructions for Turkey-India relations, which Turkey intends to carry forward.
According to the statement, the two sides discussed recent developments relating to Afghanistan. President Gul recognized that Indias contribution to Afghanistan is very important and expressed the desire to work together with India in bringing stability to that country. He wished to avoid any misunderstanding relating to a recent meeting in Istanbul on Afghanistan, which emerged from a trilateral format involving Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey. He said that Turkey would have liked India to be there and hoped that India would be able to participate in yet another meeting relating to developments in Afghanistan that would be hosted in Turkey later this year.
Apart from the Joint Declaration on Terrorism, the two sides also agreed on a Joint Declaration on Science & Technology Cooperation, which launches an advanced science and technology dialogue, offers to actively study the possibilities of working together in mutually identified projects in areas such as telecommunications, computerization, non-technology space research, bio-technology and environmental technology and convene a joint workshop in 2010.
Both sides agreed to continue to work together in the G-20 and other international fora including the United Nations, the statement added.
India and Turkey today decided to enhance their cooperation in the global fight against terrorism and agreed to work together with other like-minded states for the finalisation of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the earliest.
In a Joint Declaration on Terrorism issued here during the state visit of Turkish President Abdullah Gul, the two countries tasked their officials to work towards developing an action plan with timelines and specific measures.
For this purpose, the officials will take into account the existing structures of cooperation such as the Joint Working Group against Terrorism.
The declaration recognised that terrorism posed a grave threat to global peace and security and noted that the forces of terrorism were nourished by extremist ideologies.
They stressed that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group and recognised further that terrorism sought to weaken, in particular, democratic societies and polities that are based on the rule of law and committed to inclusive growth.
The two countries denounced those who sponsor, abet and instigate terrorism and provide them safe havens and affirmed their common commitment to fight terrorism.
They recognised that their counter-terrorism efforts constitute an important part of the international community's efforts to eradicate terrorism and called upon all countries to comply with all the provisions of international counter-terrorism conventions and protocols as well as other related international instruments and strengthen international cooperation in this regard.
The declaration said the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism was a vital component of the international legal framework in the global struggle against terrorism and calling on the international community to conclude the Convention without further delay.
Mr Gul arrived here on February 7 on a five-day visit for talks on ways of forging closer ties between the two countries.
He is accompanied on the visit by his wife, Ms Hayrunnisa Gul, Mr Mehmet Aydin, State Minister and co-Chairman of the Joint Economic Commission, Dr Recep Akdag, Minister of Health, Mr Binali Yildirim, Minister of Transportation, members of Parliament, senior officials and businessmen.
Mr Gul met President Pratibha Patil and Vice-President M Hamid Ansari and held delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Mr Gul will also visit Agra and Mumbai before flying back home.
Dr Singh was assisted at today's talks by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Mr T K A Nair, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.
An official statement said later the two sides had cordial discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Dr Singh said that Mr Gul's visit to India, so soon after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit in November, 2008, was an important milestone to review the state of the bilateral relations and to chart a forward-llokg agenda for advancing the multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries.
"We believe that our relations stand on their own footing, and should be progressed in that spirit," he said.
He said bilateral relations were far below their true potential, despite several frameworks and mechanisms in place and two-way trade crossing $ 3 billion in 2008, and felt the two countries were ready for a much deeper and robust partnership.
In this context, he referred to the Joint Study Group for a Compressive Free Trade Agreement that held its first meeting in New Delhi last month. Welcoming the increased participation of Turkish companies in infrastructural projects in India, he called for expanding cooperation in areas such as science & technology, culture, education and tourism.
Mr Gul said the two countries were rediscovering each other and that the frequent high-level exchanges, including his own visit, was a reflection of the political will to work closely with India on political, economic, science & technology and cultural fronts. He underlined that the special relationship between Turkey and Pakistan does not in any way create obstructions for Turkey-India relations, which Turkey intends to carry forward.
According to the statement, the two sides discussed recent developments relating to Afghanistan. President Gul recognized that Indias contribution to Afghanistan is very important and expressed the desire to work together with India in bringing stability to that country. He wished to avoid any misunderstanding relating to a recent meeting in Istanbul on Afghanistan, which emerged from a trilateral format involving Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey. He said that Turkey would have liked India to be there and hoped that India would be able to participate in yet another meeting relating to developments in Afghanistan that would be hosted in Turkey later this year.
Apart from the Joint Declaration on Terrorism, the two sides also agreed on a Joint Declaration on Science & Technology Cooperation, which launches an advanced science and technology dialogue, offers to actively study the possibilities of working together in mutually identified projects in areas such as telecommunications, computerization, non-technology space research, bio-technology and environmental technology and convene a joint workshop in 2010.
Both sides agreed to continue to work together in the G-20 and other international fora including the United Nations, the statement added.
