Cannot afford differences on terrorism: Modi to Xi

The Indian view was conveyed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a bilateral meeting here on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to be held On Sunday. 

“Both India and China are victims of terrorism and the region was suffering from the menace. The Prime Minister said no country is immune from terrorism and on this issue, we cannot afford to have any differences,” MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters after the meeting. He said India was in dialogue with China on enforcing a UN ban on Azhar, the brain behind the 26/11 and Pathankot attacks. “We expect China will see logic in it,” Swarup said. The Indian stand assumes significance against the backdrop of China continuing to block India’s move to get Azhar designated as a global terrorist. India has been upset with China when it put on technical hold New Delhi’s move to designate Azhar as a global terrorist by UN. Recently, China extended the hold by few months. Indian envoy to China Vijay Gokhale said both the Prime Minister and the President agreed that terrorism is a scourge for the region. 

President Xi said India and China must step up counter-terrorism efforts and strengthen security dialogue and partnership. It was announced that Yang Jiechi will meet his Indian counterpart NSA Ajit Doval soon.