A woman employee takes a selfie with Modi during the prime minister’s visit to an all-woman IT centre set up by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Riyadh yesterday.
India and Saudi Arabia yesterday agreed to further strengthen co-operation in the fight against terror and called upon all states to reject the use of terrorism against other countries.
“The two leaders agreed to further strengthen co-operation in combating terrorism, both at the bilateral level and within the multilateral system of the UN,” said a joint statement issued after delegation-level talks here led by visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
Modi was on the second day of his visit to the kingdom.
“The two leaders called upon the international community to strengthen multilateral regimes to effectively address the challenges posed by terrorism,” the statement said.
Both leaders rejected “any attempt to link this universal phenomenon to any particular race, religion or culture.”
“They called on all states to reject the use of terrorism against other countries; dismantle terrorism infrastructures where they happen to exist and to cut off any kind of support and financing to the terrorists operating and perpetrating terrorism from their territories against other states; and bring perpetrators of acts of terrorism to justice,” the statement said.
Both sides agreed to work together towards the adoption of the India-initiated Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) in the UN.
The Indian side was also briefed on Saudi Arabia’s initiative in bringing together an Islamic alliance of 34 countries against terrorism.
Acknowledging the strong bilateral security co-operation, the two leaders agreed to enhance co-operation in counter-terrorism operations, intelligence sharing and capacity-building and to strengthen co-operation in law enforcement, anti-money laundering, drug-trafficking and other transnational crimes.
Modi and King Salman discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest, including the security situation in the Middle East and South Asia, in the light of their common interest in the regional and global peace, security and stability.
“The two leaders agreed to enhance co-operation to strengthen maritime security in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean regions, vital for the security and prosperity of both countries,” the joint statement said.
Modi and King Salman also agreed to promote co-operation in cyber security, including the prevention of use of cyber space for terrorism, radicalisation and for disturbing social harmony.
In the field of energy co-operation, both leaders agreed to transform the current buyer-seller relationship to one of deeper partnership focusing on investment and joint ventures in petrochemical complexes, and co-operation in joint exploration in India, Saudi Arabia and in third countries, according to the statement.
On bilateral trade, Modi and King Salman expressed satisfaction at the $39bn trade in 2014-15.
Earlier, Modi visited an all-woman IT centre set up by India’s Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Riyadh describing it as the “glory of Saudi Arabia”.
“This atmosphere I am witnessing here today has the potential to give a strong message to the world,” Modi said.
He invited the women IT professionals to visit India, and said their visit would make a huge impact even in India.
Modi was welcomed with cheers by the employees as he entered the centre.
Some of them took selfies with the prime minister.
The centre, opened three years back, initially had 80 people. The number has now grown to over 1,000.
Eighty percent of the employees are local Saudi women.
