Baku [Azerbaijan], Apr 4 (ANI): India and Azerbaijan on Wednesday agreed for a global and concerted action to combat terrorism, stating that both sides had zero tolerance on the issue.

At a joint press meet with her Azerbaijani counterpart, Elmar Mammadyarov, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj said, "India and Azerbaijan shared the view that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is a global scourge that requires global action in the spirit of zero tolerance, including by rooting out terrorist safe havens, disrupting terrorist networks, and financing channels and halting cross-border movement of terrorists."

She underlined that New Delhi was seeking to consolidate and strengthening its relations with Baku in various sectors.

"The Government of India is committed to working closely with the Government of Azerbaijan to build a reliable, strong, vibrant and mutually beneficial partnership," Swaraj continued.

Stressing on the close relations between the two countries, the EAM said that New Delhi and Baku enjoyed warm and friendly relations based on historical and cultural ties, adding that both the countries shared the values of democracy, respect for plurality and multiculturalism.

Acknowledging that India was the fastest-growing economy in the world, Swaraj added, "India has emerged as the fastest-growing large economy in the world. It is a global hub for manufacturing and innovation. Under Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's leadership, India is strongly committed to improving the ease of doing business environment."

Swaraj underscored that India was helping Azerbaijan in developing infrastructure, reforming the business environment and promoting skill and education and economic development respectively.

She further said that Azerbaijan has invited Indian companies to set up joint ventures for the production of pharmaceuticals and medical products in the country's Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

The EAM stated that New Delhi and Baku were keen to expand their cooperation in the field of agriculture and a project for women empowerment by setting up of self-help groups in Azerbaijan.

On enhancing people-to-people contact, Swaraj said, "Both India and Azerbaijan introduced electronic visa system for each other's nationals last year. Since its introduction in April 2017, more than 500 nationals from Azerbaijan have availed the facility."

The EAM concluded her statement as saying that both the countries were calling for a global action to address climate change and was looking forward to make the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ministerial meeting a great success.

Swaraj is on a three-day visit to the Central Asian country to attend the NAM mid-term ministerial conference, having arrived earlier on Wednesday.

The conference will be held in Baku on April 5 to 6 under the theme of "Promoting international peace and security for sustainable development".

The MEA said in a statement, "As a founding member of NAM, India remains committed to the purposes and principles of the movement. External Affairs Minister's participation in the NAM ministerial meeting will underline India's continued active and constructive engagement within the movement with a view to further strengthen solidarity and cooperation among its member states."

Swaraj also met with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev at the President's Palace in Baku on Wednesday and held a bilateral meeting with the latter to discuss ways of strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries in various sectors.

The two sides discussed on how to strengthen cooperation in trade and investment, connectivity and transportation, culture and tourism, pharmaceuticals, energy and other sectors. (ANI) </s> External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday arrived here on a three-day visit to Azerbaijan during which she will hold talks with top leadership of the country and attend a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement. “Welcome with flowers! EAM @SushmaSwaraj arrives in Baku to a warm welcome on her first visit to Azerbaijan. India and Azerbaijan share warm and friendly relations based on civilisational and cultural ties,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

This is also the first-ever bilateral visit of an Indian External Affairs Minister to Azerbaijan, reports PTI. During her visit, Swaraj will hold talks with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and call on President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva. A range of issues, including ways to boost bilateral cooperation between India and Azerbaijan, are expected to be discussed during her talks with leadership of that country.

READ: Why is Sushma Swaraj going to Azerbaijan’s capital Baku today?

Swaraj will also represent India at the mid-term ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which will take place on April 5 and 6 in Baku. “As a founding member of NAM, India remains committed to the purposes and principles of the Movement,” Kumar said. “The External Affairs Minister’s participation in the NAM Ministerial Meeting will underline India’s continued active and constructive engagement within the movement with a view to further strengthen solidarity and cooperation among its member states,” the Ministry of External Affairs had earlier said.

Bilateral ties between India and Azerbaijan have grown in many areas, including energy, transportation, and capacity building. India’s ONGC-Videsh is an investor in ACG oil fields and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App </s> Baku. 30 November. REPORT.AZ/ Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with Minister of State for External Affairs of India Mobashar Javed Akbar, who is on a visit to Azerbaijan to participate in the VII Ministerial Conference to be held in Baku within the framework of the "Heart of Asia" - Istanbul Process, Report informs.

It was noted that the year of 2017 is marked by the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and India, and in this regard, the importance of exchanging mutual high-level visits for promoting bilateral political relations, as well as continuation of the mechanism of political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs was emphasized.



They also exchanged views on cooperation within international and regional organizations.



Minister Elmar Mammadyarov informed the guest about the latest status of the negotiation process on the settlement of Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and stated that the conflict should be solved only within the territorial integrity, sovereignty and internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan on the basis of the UN Security Council resolutions.



Stressing the need for expanding bilateral economic relations, the sides noted good opportunities for cooperation in investment, information technology, energy, agriculture, construction, pharmacy and other spheres. In this regard, the activity of Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Republic of India was particularly emphasized.



It was also stressed that joining of India to the North-South transport corridor would give impetus to the strengthening of economic cooperation between the two countries. In this regard, the importance of the meetings of the Coordinating Council on the project was highlighted.



At the meeting, sides commended "The Heart of Asia" - the Istanbul Process as an important platform for strengthening regional dialogue and building trust. </s> Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday morning departed for China's Qingdao to attend the two-day long 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).On Friday, the Prime Minister posted a message regarding the summit on his official Facebook account."The SCO has a rich agenda for cooperation, ranging from fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism to promoting cooperation in connectivity, commerce, customs, law, health and agriculture; protecting the environment and mitigating disaster risk, and fostering people-to-people relations," Prime Minister Modi said.He also said he would be holding multiple meetings with the heads of various SCO member states on the sidelines of the summit.This will be India's first participation in the summit as a full-time member of the organisation. India, along with Pakistan, became the full-time member during Astana summit in June 2017.Prime Minister Modi is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping apart from holding meetings with various other participating leaders.Further, the member-countries, including India, Pakistan, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, are expected to sign the Qingdao Declaration.The declaration will hold details of the significant mechanism for resisting the global terror activities.The SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation that focuses on strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states and promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture, and making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region.The SCO has two sub-divisions including Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) and SCO Secretariat. </s> Intelligence chiefs of Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan gathered in Islamabad on Tuesday to discuss measures against the threat of aggregation of the Islamic State militants in Afghanistan, Russian news agency TASS has reported.

The official confirmation of the meeting came from Sergei Ivanov, chief of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service’s press bureau. The Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, represented Russia.

“The discussions focused on the dangers arising from a build-up of the Islamic State on the Afghan territory,” Ivanov said.

“The conference reached understanding of the importance of coordinated steps to prevent the trickling of IS terrorists from Syria and Iraq to Afghanistan from where they would pose risks for neighboring countries,” he said.

READ | Indian intelligence infiltrated Islamic State ring to track, arrest Afghan suicide bomber sent to hit Delhi

Sources in Delhi told The Indian Express that India has bilateral engagements with all the relevant agencies in Russia, China and Iran, especially on intelligence-sharing and counter-terrorism.

While New Delhi and Islamabad have not had bilateral engagement with each other on counter-terrorism cooperation, sources said they have cooperated under the rubric of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the past six months.

In January-February this year, New Delhi hosted a SCO meeting of counter-terrorism specialists, and Islamabad sent a top four-member team of counter-terrorism and intelligence specialists to attend the meeting.

Interestingly, all four countries which met in Islamabad on Tuesday are members of SCO, but sources said the meeting was not under the rubric of SCO.

Counter-terrorism meetings under SCO are organised under the aegis of Regional Anti-terrorism Structure (RATS), which is based in Tashkent in Uzbekistan.

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App </s> NEW DELHI, INDIA — Bangladesh pulled out of a regional summit to be held in Islamabad in November, a day after India announced that it would not attend the meeting in the aftermath of a deadly attack on an Indian army base close to Pakistan’s border.

Without naming Pakistan, Junior Foreign Minister Shahriar Alam of Bangladesh said repeated interference in its internal affairs by one country had prompted Dhaka to pull out of the meeting of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation, or SAARC.

Indian media reported that Afghanistan and Bhutan have also said that they will not attend, but there was no confirmation from these countries.

The action is seen as an attempt to send a message to Pakistan about cross-border terrorism, not just in India but also in other countries in the region.

Blaming Pakistan-based Islamic militants for the assault on the army base that killed 18 soldiers, India has cited increasing cross-border attacks as its reason for staying away. Denying any responsibility, Islamabad has called the Indian allegations an attempt to deflect attention from the restive situation in Indian Kashmir.

South Asia expert Sukh Deo Muni, at the Indian Institute of Defense Analyses in New Delhi, said the pullout decision by India and Bangladesh, and likely also by Afghanistan and Bhutan, demonstrates that “Pakistan is at odds with other countries in South Asia besides India.”

He pointed out that while tensions between India and Pakistan spiraled recently, ties between Bangladesh and Islamabad have been frayed for a longer period. Their tensions stem from Islamabad’s criticism of the execution of Islamist leaders in Dhaka for alleged war crimes in the country’s 1971 War of Independence.

Responding to India’s decision to not attend the summit, Pakistan said on Tuesday that it remains committed to peace and regional cooperation and accused New Delhi of perpetrating terrorism on its soil.

SAARC, which was set up in 1985 to promote cooperation in what is one of the world’s least integrated regions, has been constantly overshadowed by the friction between its two biggest members – India and Pakistan.

The other countries in the eight-member group are Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Maldives.

Saying that the summit is now unlikely to take place, analyst Muni says the development represents a serious setback to efforts to promote trade and connectivity in South Asia.

Other analysts say India’s push for a boycott came as the government faces enormous domestic pressure to retaliate to the attack on the Indian army camp.

Manoj Joshi at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi says Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has opted for diplomatic measures. “People are angry and they want responses and I think it is better to make this move than to get into any kind of armed conflict,” says Joshi. </s> Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed deep concern at the rising “export of terror”, in an apparent reference to Pakistan, saying it is a common security threat to the region as he sought a coordinated response from ASEAN member nations to combat the menace.

While addressing the 14th ASEAN-India summit here, the Prime Minister also noted that growing radicalism through the ideology of hatred and spread of extreme violence are the other security threats.

“Export of terror, growing radicalisation and spread of extreme violence are common security threats to our societies,” he said in his second attack on Pakistan in two days amid escalating war of words between New Delhi and Islamabad. “The threat is local, regional, and transitional at the same time. Our partnership with ASEAN seeks to craft a response through coordination, cooperation at multiple levels,” Mr. Modi said.

He said that in the face of growing traditional and non traditional challenges, political cooperation has emerged as key in relations. “We are willing to take concrete steps to enhance cooperation in cyber security, de-radicalisation and counterterrorism,” he added.

On Monday, Mr. Modi made a sharp attack on Pakistan at the G20 summit, saying “one single nation” in South Asia is spreading “agents of terror” as he asserted that those who sponsor the menace must be sanctioned and isolated, not rewarded.

In his remarks on Thursday, the Prime Minister said that ASEAN is central to India’s Act East policy. “Our engagement driven by common priorities bringing peace, stability and prosperity to the region,” he told the 10-member grouping attended by Heads of state.

He said enhancing connectivity was central to India’s partnership with ASEAN. “Seamless digital connectivity between India and Southeast Asia is a shared objective. India committed to Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity,” Mr. Modi said.

Securing seas was a shared responsibility, he said, adding that sea lanes are “life lines of global trade.”

India supports freedom of navigation based on United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), he added. He thanked the member countries for sharing their views on “nature, direction and priorities of our engagement.”

“All three pillars of our partnership — security, economic and socio-cultural have registered good progress,” he said, adding that engagement of India-ASEAN is of “economic optimism.”

“We continue to expand and deepen our economic engagements,” Mr. Modi said. Laos premier Thongloun Sisoulith complimented India’s Act East policy and its contribution to ASEAN and hoped the summit will provide future direction. </s> The S-400 Triumph air defence system integrates a multifunction radar, autonomous detection and targeting systems, anti-aircraft missile systems, launchers, and command and control centre.

With the signing of this deal, India is now at risk of sanctions from the US under the contentious CAATSA act. The US has threatened countries with sanction s if they deal with with Russia in defence matters.

[S-400 missile deal: Will India be granted waiver from CAATSA?]

Modi and Putin earlier today met for the 19th India-Russia annual bilateral summit during which they deliberated on a host of bilateral, regional and global issues. The summit began at Hyderabad House here this morning.

"A relationship radiating warmth and affection! PM @narendramodi welcomed @KremlinRussia_E Vladimir Putin for the 19th India-Russia Annual Bilateral Summit continuing the series of fruitful engagements this year!" Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted along with a picture of the two leaders at Hyderabad House.

Putin had a one-on-one meeting with the prime minister after his arrival here on Thursday evening. Modi had hosted a private dinner for the visiting dignitary. The Russian president, who leaves on Friday evening, is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov. (Image courtesy - ANI/Twitter)

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Delhi on Thursday on a two-day visit to hold the annual bilateral summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The main focus of the visit is in fact the signing of the USD 5 billion worth deal to purchase S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems from Russia which will significantly bolster India's defence capabilities. (Image - ANI/Twitter) </s> LONDON: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today assured his British counterpart Theresa May that the UK's withdrawal from the European Union offers opportunities to "further increase" bilateral trade ties as the two leaders had "fruitful discussions" on multiple aspects of India-UK relations and issues like counter-terrorism, radicalisation and online extremism.

Modi, who arrived at 10 Downing Street for a breakfast meeting, was greeted with the customary handshake by May.

"Very welcome to London, Prime Minister," May said as she greeted Modi. Both leaders discussed ways to boost cooperation between India and UK.

"Wonderful meeting with Prime Minister @theresa_may at 10, Downing Street. We had fruitful discussions on multiple aspects of India-UK relations," Prime Minister Modi tweeted after the meeting.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the two leaders had wide-ranging talks on redefining and infusing new energy into the bilateral engagement post-Brexit.

Brexit refers to the UK's decision in a June 23, 2016 referendum to leave the 28-nation European Union (EU).

A statement issued by 10 Downing Street after the meeting said that the Syria air strikes, counter-terrorism, radicalisation and online extremism were among some of the key topics covered by both leaders.

"Prime Minister Modi said there would be no dilution in the importance of the UK to India post-Brexit. He said the City of London was of great importance to India for accessing the global markets and would remain so," a Downing Street spokesperson said.

"The Prime Minister (May) updated Prime Minister Modi on the progress of the UK's withdrawal from the EU, saying the implementation period agreed in March gives Indian companies and investors the confidence that market access will continue on current terms until the end of 2020," the spokesperson said.

May reiterated the UK's position on Russia's recent "destabilising behaviour", underlined by the attack in Salisbury on former Russian double Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia and the protection provided for the Syrian regime's repeated use of chemical weapons against its people.

"They reflected on the progress made on bilateral defence and security cooperation since the Prime Minister's visit to India in 2016 and the agreement to a number of Defence Capability Partnerships in key strategic areas, with closer military-to-military ties underpinned by a succession of high level visits and exchanges," Downing Street said.

During a discussion on cooperation between the two countries on legal matters, which is likely to have covered extradition matters, May also welcomed the return to the UK of the "Chennai Six", the former British soldiers accused of piracy who were freed from an Indian jail last year.

The two leaders said trade between the UK and India had grown strongly over the last year and agreed to build on the recommendations of the UK-India Joint Trade Review to reduce barriers to trade, to make it easier to do business in both countries and enable a stronger bilateral trade relationship for the future.

May and Modi discussed a new UK-India Tech Partnership, which will create thousands of jobs and generate significant investment in both our economies.

Looking ahead at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) tomorrow, they also agreed on the importance of working together to build a more "sustainable, prosperous, secure and fairer future" for all Commonwealth citizens.

A "flash mob" of sari-clad women from Indian Ladies in UK, accompanied by dhols, had gathered outside Downing Street to welcome the Indian PM with banners such as "In India, Peace is always in Fashion".

After his meeting with the British Prime Minister, Modi visited the Science Museum to explore the '5000 Years of Science and Innovation' exhibition and interact with Indian-origin and other scientists and innovators based in the UK.

The event, hosted by Prince Charles, include the launch of a new Ayurvedic Centre of Excellence, aimed at creating a first-of-its-kind global network for evidence-based research on yoga and Ayurveda.

"The Prince and @narendramodi watch a performance by the Akademi South Asian dance group at the @sciencemuseum," Clarence House tweeted.

It said the exhibition celebrates India's role in the history of science and technology by exploring its contributions to subjects including space exploration and engineering.

Modi had landed in Britain from Stockholm overnight for bilateral engagements as well as multilateral discussions as part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

He was received at the airport by UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who said he was "excited" that India-UK bilateral trade is growing at 15 per cent a year and the visit will help build on "huge economic advantages".

According to official estimates, India-UK bilateral trade stands at USD 13 billion, with the UK among the largest G20 investors into India.

Modi's UK visit this week will have a particular focus on the India-UK technological partnership as well as an enhanced role in the Commonwealth.

A series of demonstrations, including a silent protest to condemn the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, have been planned by various groups at Parliament Square here his visit.
At a summit in Baku, India and Azerbaijan discuss cooperation in areas including counterterrorism, agriculture, infrastuctural development, women's rights, and trade.