Central Asian nations condemn Pahalgam attack, resolve to fight terror
The Foreign Ministers of Central Asian countries Friday unequivocally condemned the Pahalgam terror attack and stressed that the perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of terror acts must be held accountable and brought to justice.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar hosted the India-Central Foreign Ministers dialogue, which took place after more than three-and-half years. The meeting was attended by Kazakhstan Deputy PM Murat Nurtleu, Kyrgyz Republic's Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubayev, Tajikistan's Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Turkmenistan's Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov and Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov.
The ministers also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to the joint statement, the countries condemned the Pahalgam attack and 'reaffirmed their firm commitment to fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reiterated that providing safe haven, using terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism, terror financing, arms and drugs trafficking, dissemination of a radical ideology and abuse of cyber space to spread disinformation and incite violence, goes against the basic principles of humanity and international relations.'
'They stressed that perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice. In this context, they called for early adoption of the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism,' it said.
'They stressed the need to strengthen UN-led global counter-terrorism cooperation and fully implement the relevant UNSC resolutions, Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and FATF standards,' it said.
The ministers, as per the statement, reiterated their 'strong support for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan which is free from terrorism, war and drugs… The Ministers agreed to continue close coordination and consultations on matters related to Afghanistan'.
Earlier in the day, Jaishankar appreciated the Central Asian nations that 'stood by India and condemned the heinous terrorist attack' while reaffirming that it would be a 'trusted development partner' for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. He said the cooperation between India and Central Asia received a 'quantum boost' following the PM's visits to all five countries in the region in 2015.
Jaishankar said both India and the Central Asian nations are committed to advancing mutually beneficial cooperation in areas of trade and investment, defence, regional connectivity, security and new and emerging technologies.
According to the joint statement, 'The ministers emphasized optimum usage of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) to enhance connectivity between India and the Central Asian countries' while 'India reiterated its support for the membership of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in INSTC'.
The ministers also appreciated the First meeting of the India-Central Asia Joint Working Group on Chabahar Port held in Mumbai in April 2023. India welcomed the interest of Central Asian countries to utilize the services of Shahid Beheshti Terminal at the Chabahar Port for facilitating their trade with India and beyond.
As per the statement, they also 'expressed interest in joint exploration of rare earth and critical minerals. Appreciating the outcomes of the first India-Central Asia Rare Earth Forum held in September 2024 in New Delhi, they called upon the relevant authorities to hold the second India-Central Asia Rare Earth Forum meeting at the earliest convenience. The Ministers also encouraged exchange of delegations to explore new areas of cooperation in critical minerals'.
They also agreed to prepare ground to hold the second India-Central Asia Summit at a mutually convenient date in 2025.
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