India pitches for global action against terrorism

India pitches for global action against terrorism

1. During Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince visit to India, both sides signed five agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) including deals on an investment fund and tourism.
2. India and Saudi Arabia called on all states to reject the use of terrorism against other countries. They stressed for early adoption of the ‘UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism’ and underlined the importance of comprehensive sanctioning of terrorists and their organisations by the United Nations.
3. The United Nations Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism(CCIT) is a proposed treaty which intends to criminalize all forms of international terrorism and deny terrorists, their financiers and supporters access to funds, arms, and safe havens. Currently, the negotiations are deadlocked mainly because of differences over the definition of terrorism.
4. Both sides agreed to (a) constitute a ‘Comprehensive Security Dialogue’ at the level of National Security Advisors (b) set up a Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and (c) creation of the Strategic Partnership Council led by Prime Minister Modi and the Crown Prince, and supported by ministerial representation.
5. Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth-largest trade partner, after China, the US and the UAE. It is a major source of energy, as we import about 19 percent of our crude oil requirement from the Kingdom. The value of bilateral trade during 2015-16 was $26.71 billion, a drop from $39.27 billion in 2014-15.