Search the Internet          Tips

India, UK condemn those who support terrorism

Terming India and Britain as 'partners for a better and safer world', Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Tony Blair on Sunday condemned all acts of terrorism 'whatever the motivation' and rejected the arguments of those who attempted to justify terrorism.

"We condemn all those who support terrorism, those that finance, train or provide support for terrorists share their guilt," the two leaders said in the 'New Delhi Declaration' signed after an hour-long meeting.

"We reject the arguments of those who attempt to justify terrorism, which in all its forms must be condemned unambiguously and eradicated wherever it exists," they said.

The Declaration reaffirms the deep partnership between the two countries aimed at benefiting the people and to help create a better and safer world.

Asserting that the attack on the Indian Parliament was an attack on democracy worldwide, they said those responsible for these crimes must be delivered to justice and must never be allowed to threaten innocent lives in the future.

Both sides also agreed to enhance significantly bilateral cooperation in counter-terrorism including training, building on the work of the UK/India Joint Working Group on Terrorism.

The Declaration said Britain continued to view India as "a natural contender" for permanent membership of the UN Security Council and would work with New Delhi to achieve it.

Supporting the new interim government in Kabul and its policy of denial of safe haven to international terrorism, Vajpayee and Blair reaffirmed their commitment to contribute in the humanitarian, reconstruction and rehabilitation needs of the Afghan people.

Stating that both countries remained committed to international peace and security, they emphasised 'peaceful resolution of disputes and the critical role of sustained confidence-building in this process'.

Both nations would continue to work together in support of UN peace-keeping operations and for further cooperation between the respective armed forces.

"We share a common perspective and concern about the threats to international peace and security, including from weapons of mass destruction and the risks of such weapons falling into the hands of terrorists," they said

They added, "We will also pool our efforts in working towards the objective of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles."

In a significant move, Britain also said it intended to 'triple its development assistance to India to approximately 300 million pounds (Rs 21 billion) a year by 2004'.

Asserting that both countries were engaged in a common effort to tackle HIV/AIDS and the eradication of polio, it said Britain and India were expected to shortly sign agreements for assistance to the tune of 123 million pounds (Rs 86.1 million) for HIV/AIDS relief.

Britain has already ratified agreements for 98 million pounds (Rs 68.6 million) for polio eradication in India and 32 million pounds (Rs 2.25 million) for rebuilding primary schools damaged in the Orissa supercyclone.

On trade and investment, the Declaration noted that bilateral trade reached nearly five billion pounds in 2001 and UK was India's largest trading partner in Europe and second largest in the world.

"This is a success story for the Indo-British partnership. Events in the world economy this year, and the repercussions of the September 11 attacks, have moderated but not reversed the trend," it said.

Since 1994, nearly 200 joint ventures between Indian and British companies have been formed each year. British firms were attracted to the increasing opportunities in India as the government 'pushes ahead with its programme of economic reform'.

Stressing on enhancing cooperation in the fields of education, science and technology, the Declaration called for further promotion of cultural and educational ties.

"Such successful cultural and educational cooperation merits greater reflection in the media of both countries. Exchanges of journalists as well as linkages between media organisations will be encouraged," it said.

Britain also intended to increase the value of the Chevening Scholarship scheme for Indian students to two million pounds (Rs 1.4 million) annually.

On the WTO, both countries decided to 'work closely together to promote outcomes that genuinely meet the needs of developing countries as well as contributing to a substantial liberalisation of international trade'.

Meanwhile, asserting that India had to crush terrorism from its source 'even if we have to do it without outside help', Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee appreciated Britain's statement condemning the recent terrorist attacks in India and calling upon Pakistan to immediately take action against the outfits responsible for them.

"We hope good sense and reason will prevail," Vajpayee said at a banquet hosted in honour of the British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Recalling his last visit to India in the wake of brutal attack on Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and on the eve of military action in Afghanistan, Vajpayee said, "Since then, the action in Afghanistan has ended satisfactorily. But the act of terror in Srinagar remains unanswered."

"The subsequent attack on our Parliament was an audacious act of provocation. It conveyed to us the stark message that we have to crush this terrorism from its source, even if we have to do it without outside help," Vajpayee said, adding the diplomatic measures India had taken against Pakistan 'flowed directly from this assessment'.

Earlier Report:
Blair holds talks with Vajpayee, Jaswant

Tell us what you think of this report