Modi seeks action against nation sponsoring terrorism

Without naming Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said he has discussed with visiting British Premier Theresa May the challenges of cross-border terrorism and the need to take action against its sponsors.

In a joint address to the media following delegation-level talks here, Modi said he discussed with May "ways to purposefully work together to combat the growing forces of radicalisation and terrorism".

"We agreed that it is not a limited security challenge. Its arc of threat spreads across nations and regions. Terrorists move across borders with ease, and endanger the entire humanity," he said.

"I conveyed our deep concerns to Prime Minister May regarding cross-border terrorism and the need for the international community to take strong action against states that support and sponsor terrorism."

Stating that India-Britain ties were "truly special", Modi said that the enduring partnership was "nurtured by our shared values; extensive people to people linkages -- lets not forget cricket here -- widespread economic engagement for the prosperity of our societies; common efforts aimed at the security of our people; and a common vision for a peaceful and prosperous world".

He said that growing business partnerships and expanding trade and capital flows between the two economies were crucial to the economic partnership.

"Indian companies have been successfully raising finance from the City of London," he said.

"We are encouraged by the London Stock Exchange presently hosting several rupee-denominated Masala bonds. It reflects the strong investor confidence in the fast growing Indian economy."

Modi said he also discussed defence and security partnership with May.

"I encourage British companies to look at the multiple opportunities in the Indian defence sector," he stated.

"Looking beyond trade in defence equipment, I invite them to build partnerships with Indian enterprises that focus on manufacturing, technology transfer and co-development."

The Prime Minister also flagged security in the cyber space, especially involving critical infrastructure, as an area of shared interest.

On her part, Prime Minister May said that Britain and India faced the shared threat of terrorism and the two countries have agreed to strengthen cooperation in tackling use of internet by extremists.

"We both face the shared threat of terrorism as individual countries, as partners, and as global powers," she said.

"We have agreed to strengthen our cooperation, in particular, by sharing best practice to tackle use of internet by violent extremists," she said.

"Prime Minister Modi and I have agreed to step up our cooperation by negotiating a cyber framework between our countries."

Stating that India is a leading power of the world, May reiterated that Britain would like to see India take a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

She called for breaking down barriers in trade and investment while voicing support for free trade between India and Britain.

In this connection, she said that India has been made the first visa-holding country to avail of Britain's registered travel scheme.

As for student visas, she said that Britain would continue to welcome the "best and brightest" of Indian students.

Earlier on Monday, Modi and May addressed the India-UK Tech Summit here.

This is May's first bilateral visit outside of Europe since she assumed the Prime Minister's office in July this year.

She took over the prime ministership after David Cameron resigned following the historic referendum in June in which Britain voted to exit from the European Union. Cameron rooted for Britain to stay in the EU.

May's visit comes a little less than a year after Modi's visit to Britain in November last year.

May, who arrived here late on Sunday night on a three-day official visit to India, will also visit Bengaluru on Tuesday.

--IANS

ab/vt