BIMSTEC for strong action against states encouraging, financing and supporting terrorism

Supporting India's effort to isolate Pakistan in the international platform, the BIMSTEC nations have said that strong measure should be taken against states that encourage, finance and support terrorism, adding that terrorist should not be glorified as martyrs.

"The BIMSTEC nations said that we should not only seek to disrupt and eliminate terrorist, terror organisation and network but should also identify, hold accountable and take strong measure against states that encourage, finance and support terrorism. There should be no glorification of terrorist as martyrs," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Secretary East, Priti Saran told the media here.

Saran said that the BRICS-BIMSTEC nation also conveyed their condolences to the recent attack in Uri and other attacks that have taken place in India.

She further stated that all countries have committed to combat terrorism in all its forms and added that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds.

"The need of urgent measure to counter terrorism was felt and in this context all the countries have agreed to hold talks among the National Security Advisor," said Saran.

Other than this the BIMSTEC nation had agreements on trade facilitation, annual exercise on disaster management, information intelligence meeting and annual meeting of intelligence chief, BIMSTEC economic technical infrastructural co-operation, co-operation in countering, radicalizing and terrorism and agriculture co-operation.

The BIMSTEC nations have also agreed to initiate talks on costal shipping, expand energy trade co-operation and setup centre for technology transfer.

BIMSTEC is a grouping of seven countries, five from South Asia and two from South-East Asia.

Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal are the members of BIMSTEC, which was established in 1997 to promote trade facilitation between all member countries.