Concerted efforts needed to tackle terrorism, says President Mukherjee

President Pranab Mukherjee has said that concerted efforts are needed to tackle terrorism, which has assumed serious proportions and threatens the international mmunity.

Addressing the officer trainees of 2013 batch of the Indian Foreign Service at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President expressed concern over extremist elements having access to abundant arms and resourceshrough the money generated by drug trafficking and other criminal activities.

"The trouble spots in the world are spreading rapidly and many important cities are being threatened. There is not only danger to historical and civilizational relics in these cities, but their collapse also becomes a symbol of political destabilisation. Despite Cold War having come to an end, the desired peace and tranquillity is still far from the reach of the people of the world," President Mukherjee said.

The President further described the current global situation as extremely complex and said that simplistic approaches will not be sufficient to understand current trends. He urged the Indian Diplomatsake note of developments in the world with utmost speed and develop the ability and expertise to understand and analyse them.

Describing the Civil Service as a great opportunity to serve the nation and the people, the President recalled how officers of the Indian Foreign Service had done an outstanding job at great risk to their own safety and security in Lebanon and Yemen, where Indian nationals had to be evacuated.

He said these operations conducted with the support of a number of services and organizations testify to the skill and competence of the Foreign Service.

The President called upon the young diplomats to pay special attention to Non Resident Indians (NRI) and said that they represent India's values, culture and civilisation in the countries that they reside and also project India's soft-power.

He concluded the address by calling upon the young diplomats to serve the nation with commitment and dedication.