(TERRORISM) India looks to enhance counter-terror cooperation with Saudi Arabia... JEDDAH: As India braces itself for post-2014 Afghanistan, it is seeking to enhance security and counter-terrorism cooperation with Saudi Arabia which has recently shed its inhibitions over getting involved in the ongoing peace process and is actively participating in attempts to get the Taliban to negotiate. Along with the UAE and Pakistan, Saudi Arabia was one of only three countries to recognize the Taliban while it was in power from the mid-90s until 2001 but severed ties with the group after 9/11. Sources here said foreign minister Salman Khurshid and his counterpart Saud Al Faisal discussed the situation in Afghanistan, during which Khurshid highlighted India’s concerns over the possibility of Taliban participation in any Kabul dispensation next year. “Saudi Arabia in fact has also sought our assessment of the situation in Afghanistan,” Khurshid said. According to sources, both leaders agreed that Afghanistan’s independence and sovereignty had to be preserved and that the country should not be allowed to be exploited by “terrorist groups”. Sources said that while Pakistan was not directly mentioned in the talks, India is hoping that Saudi Arabia, with its considerable influence over Pakistan, will help in dealing with the issue of terror more effectively. Islamabad has always attached great importance to its relations with Riyadh and the comeback of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif is likely to further deepen ties. The oil-rich country bailed Sharif out by not just negotiating his exile in 2000 after he was sentenced for life but also his return to Pakistan seven years later. India is hoping that Riyadh will use its influence with Pakistan to deal with issues related to terror more effectively. Khurshid said here that security and stability in the Arabian Peninsula was linked to security in South Asia. “We discussed the menace of terrorism the world continues to face and agreed to further strengthen our counter-terrorism cooperation which is an essential element of the Riyadh Declaration we signed in 2010,” Khurshid said as he described Saudi Arabia as one of India’s most valued strategic partners. “Our cooperation would not only benefit our two countries but also contribute significantly to the stability and security of the entire region and beyond,” he added. The Riyadh Declaration was the outcome of PM Manmohan Singh’s visit to the kingdom in 2010 when he and King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz decided to elevate relations to a strategic partnership covering security, defence and political matters. According to official sources, Saudi Arabia’s “attitude” to terrorism has changed completely and this was reflected in the detention and deportation of LeT operative and 26/11 handler Abu Jundal and another terror suspect Fasih Mahmood by the country. “We held productive discussions on a wide range of regional and multilateral issues. Saudi Arabia is part of our extended neighbourhood. It is very important that we remain in constant touch on developments in the region. We both have similar views on a large number of regional and global issues,” Khurshid said. (Times of India 27/5/13)
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 15:38:19 +0000
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