As reported by the Nova Agency, the government of India today approved the text of a cooperation agreement with Russia to combat terrorism and organized crime: the Indian Minister of Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad said, according to whom it is of an extraordinary initiative taken by the government today to have an Indo-Russian agreement on cooperation to combat terrorism and organized crime. According to the press service of the New Delhi cabinet, the agreement will be signed during the next visit of the Indian delegation, led by India's minister Rajnath Singh, to Russia, scheduled for 27-29 November. The document was designed to renew the October 1993 agreement on the cooperation of the two countries' interior ministries. The initiative was expressed by Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev during his visit to India in 2015. The agreement will establish exchanges of information and the sharing of best practices to eliminate terrorism and investigate crimes.
Terrorism was also a central theme of the ASEAN summit, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which took place last week in Manila. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, met the President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, to whom he reiterated how the common challenges for the two countries and for the entire area are those against terrorism and extremism. The Indian premier, the first in 36 years to visit the Philippines, said that New Delhi "assures ASEAN stable support to build a regional security architecture based on law that is in the interests of the region and its peaceful development" . The first meeting between the two leaders ended with the signing of four agreements aimed at strengthening bilateral relations in defense, especially in logistics; in commerce, entrepreneurship and culture.
Modi has had numerous other bilateral meetings in recent days. With the president of the United States, Donald Trump, he discussed various issues, from expanding trade to strengthening relations in defense and security. The two leaders, a statement from the White House summed up, "have pledged to strengthen cooperation as a major defense partner, believing that the two largest democracies in the world should also have the largest military capabilities in the world." “Cooperation between India and the United States can go beyond bilateral cooperation and both countries can work for the future of Asia and the world. We are moving forward together on many issues, ”Modi said. “Wherever President Trump has gone and had the opportunity to speak about India, he has spoken very highly of it. He expressed optimism about India and I can assure you that India is trying and will continue to try to live up to the expectations of the world and the US, ”added the Indian premier. Trump described Modi as a "friend" and expressed appreciation for the "fantastic job" he is doing in uniting his country's "many factions". “The information from India is very positive. For this I want to congratulate ”, said the leader of Washington.
The conversation between Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, focused on strengthening the “special strategic and global partnership”. The Indian premier, via Twitter, said that the meeting with "his friend Abe" was "excellent": "various aspects of bilateral relations" were examined and ways to "deepen cooperation between economies were discussed. and the peoples ". Modi then met with his Australian counterpart, Malcolm Turnbull, with whom he discussed the converging strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific area, the context of China's growing assertiveness. The two leaders, a spokesman for the Indian foreign ministry, Raveesh Kumar, said on Twitter on how to "maximize the significant potential for expanding cooperation in a wide range of areas". Also via Twitter, Australian Prime Minister Turnbull described the meeting as "productive" and cited some of the issues touched upon: in addition to economic collaboration, attention was paid to security and the fight against terrorism.
The Indian prime minister then spoke to his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Xuan Phuc. At the center of the discussion was the common goal of "deepening bilateral relations" and the issues of defense and security, a few days after US President Trump's visit to Hanoi, who offered himself as mediator in disputes in the South China Sea that oppose several Asean countries, including Vietnam, to China. India has taken a stand in support of the freedom of navigation and access to resources in those waters, in accordance with the principles of international law and in particular the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Strengthening the friendship between the two countries can be of great benefit both to their respective citizens and to the entire region, Modi commented at the end of the meeting.
Photo: zee news
