New Delhi: India on Thursday raised the issue of cross-border terrorism at the informal Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) meeting in which Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar addressed the gathering of foreign ministers of the region.
Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said, “Addressed the SAARC Foreign ministers Informal Meeting today. Reaffirmed India’s commitment to Neighbourhood First policy and towards building a connected, integrated, secure and prosperous South Asia.
“Cross-border terrorism, blocking connectivity and obstructing trade are three key challenges that SAARC must overcome. Only then will we see enduring peace, prosperity and security in our South Asia region’, he said. “Recognise the progress on South Asian satellite and extension of National Knowledge Network”, Jaishankar further added.
During the meeting, the emphasis was laid on India's continuous support to its SAARC neighbours.
Jaishankar said, " Emphasised India’s support for our SAARC neighbours-extended USD 150 million foreign currency swap support to the Maldives. Currency swap support of USD 200 million to Bhutan. USD 400 million to Sri Lanka during the course of this year".
Jaishankar participated in the virtual informal meeting of Saarc council of ministers on Thursday afternoon. Foreign ministers of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Srilanka also attended the meeting. Earlier MEA had said, “We look forward to positive and constructive discussions to take forward regional cooperation among member states for increased prosperity in South Asian region”.
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This time, Nepal was the host of the virtual meeting of the SAARC Council of Ministers which traditionally is being held on the sidelines of UNGA in New York.
It is to be noted that the SAARC summit has remained delayed after Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists attacked a military base in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri, which killed 19 soldiers. Pakistan was to host the summit in 2016 but India decided to boycott the meeting following the Uri attack. Other countries, including Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan, also walked out following India’s decision to exit the summit to step up diplomatic pressure on Pakistan.
Earlier, India, the largest member of the SAAR forum has repeatedly called on Pakistan to take a stringent step to combat terror and said terror and talks do not go together.
On March 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video conference with SAARC leaders, in which he initiated a COVID-19 emergency fund for the regional bloc with an initial offer of USD 10 million for the fund. According to sources, all other SAARC members had donated to the COVID-19 emergency fund except Pakistan, which was the last among the eight members of the bloc to contribute to the COVID-19 emergency fund.
