India proposes to establish SAARC Centre for good governance

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday suggested the establishment of a SAARC Centre for good governance where officers from all member countries can come together to exchange their experiences on good governance.

Rajnath stated that the periodic meeting of SAARC Home Ministers provides India a timely opportunity to underscore the imperative of meaningful and substantive cooperation within the region, against terrorism in particular and organized crime in general.

He emphasized the commitment of the present government in New Delhi led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving primacy to improving India's relations with all SAARC neighbours.

Rajnath Singh, who participated in the sixth meeting of SAARC Ministers of Interior/Home here today, in his opening remarks stressed India's commitment to a stable, peaceful and prosperous South-Asian neighbourhood.

The Home Minister underlined that terrorism is a major issue of concern for the region.

"This is driven by internal, regional as well as international factors. Further, groups with radical and extremist ideologies pose threats across national boundaries in the volatile security environment," he said.

Rajnath also mentioned that India is carefully assessing the impact of the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan on the entire South Asian region.

The Home Minister expressed concern about the new threats of extremism, terrorism, violence emerging in this region.

Rajnath Singh also stressed that the Indian Government is committed to securing justice for the families of the victims of deadly terrorist strikes like the killings during the terrorist attack in Mumbai in November 2008.

He referred to the problems that India is facing due to drug smuggling particularly in Punjab, money laundering, terrorist funding, cyber crime, human trafficking and illegal movement of arms across national boundaries.

"Linked to this issue is the increasing circulation of counterfeit currency in India's neighborhood," he said.

The Home Minister further stated that the menace of terrorism, drug abuse, drug trafficking etc. can be best fought if we share our experiences at the operational level.

All the other SAARC Ministers of Interior / Home of the member countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka participated in the meeting.