India and Australia condemn scourge of terrorism, urge all countries to join forces in combating the threat
Melbourne, July 9
India and Australia on Thursday unequivocally condemned the scourge of terrorism and emphasised the importance of all countries joining forces to combat it without any double standards.
They also called for action against all those involved in any manner with terrorism.
Addressing a special press conference after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's talks with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, Foreign Secretary Vikarm Misri also said that the situation in West Asia came up for discussion and the Prime Minister expressed once again India's desire to see sustained peace in the region.
"The leaders also exchanged perspectives about regional and multilateral matters of mutual interest, including shared concerns such as terrorism and violent extremism, which impact both countries. Both countries have seen terrible incidents in the space of the last year or so in this domain. The Prime Minister expressed once again India's desire to see sustained peace in the West Asian region, which was also a subject that came up for discussion between the two sides," Misri said.
"Both leaders also extended or reiterated their support to Quad and identified it as a key mechanism to respond to some of the region's most pressing challenges, including in areas related to infrastructure, critical and emerging technologies, cyber security, supply chain resilience, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief, maritime security, and counter-terrorism," he added.
Answering a query, Misri said terrorism is a shared concern of both countries. "During the discussions, there was reference to the horrifying terrorist incidents that have impacted both countries. I would say that this is an issue on which there is a complete meeting of minds between the two countries and an agreement on approaches, both in terms of communication as well as in terms of handling and building up capacities to address this challenge," he said.
"Both sides unequivocally condemn the scourge of terrorism and have emphasised the importance for all countries to join forces in combating the threat of terrorism without any double standards and call for action against all those involved in any manner with terrorism," he added.
Misri said one of the key outcomes of the meeting today was the adoption of the Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation as well as an India-Australia maritime security collaboration roadmap.
"These constitute recognition that the partnership must evolve to meet changing strategic circumstances and to reflect a commitment to advancing our defence and security partnership," he said.
The Foreign Secretary said the Prime Ministers also recognise the central role of industry-led partnerships and strategic investments in deepening cooperation to support reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy supply.
Misri said the Prime Minister noted that India is an important supplier of downstream petroleum products to Australia, while Australia remains a long-standing supplier of products such as coal and natural gas.
"As a result of this visit, we also have the administrative arrangement for enabling the supply of uranium from Australia to India. This is an agreement that builds on the earlier agreement on civil nuclear cooperation between India and Australia that was signed in 2014. This is a significant step in fulfilling the clean energy transition ambitions of India and the shared objectives of both India and Australia towards a clean energy economy and towards the transition to net zero," he added.
PM Modi is on a three-day visit to Australia.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Terrorism has no religion, no borders. Glad to see India and Australia taking a unified stance. But I hope this isn't just empty words - action on the ground matters more. The uranium deal is interesting too, clean energy cooperation is the way forward.
Finally some real cooperation! Australia has been a bit lukewarm on terrorism in the past, but this joint declaration and maritime security roadmap shows they're serious now. The clean energy partnership is a bonus - both countries need to move away from fossil fuels.
As an Australian, I'm so glad to see our PM working closely with India on this. Terrorism affects all of us, and countries need to stop playing politics with it. The Quad is proving its worth. Great to see Modi ji and Albo working together! 🌏
Good to see strong words, but I've seen too many summit declarations that gather dust. The real test is whether this translates into intelligence sharing and joint operations. The maritime security roadmap sounds promising though, especially with China's activities in the region.
Finally some concrete outcomes from these visits! The uranium supply deal is a game-changer for India's clean energy goals. And on terrorism, no more selective condemnation - either you're against it completely or you're part of the problem. Proud of this partnership! 💪
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