Auckland, July 11 (IANS) India and New Zealand on Saturday committed to strengthening cooperation against terrorism and violent extremism, with the proposed Joint Working Group serving as one of several mechanisms to deepen collaboration in addressing these threats.
Addressing a press briefing on the ongoing engagements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Zealand, Rudrendra Tandon, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said that India will continue to remind the international community that terrorism and violent extremism pose the gravest threats to global peace and security, stressing that there can be no double standards in combating the menace.
“Terrorism and violent extremism is very well known. We will constantly remind the international community and our partners that this poses a significant threat to peace and security all over the world. We work with partners to tackle this scourge. The joint working group that we are establishing with New Zealand is just one of the many steps,” said Tandon.
“But New Zealand and India are fairly like-minded and tough on this entire issue of terrorism and violent extremism, and the need to ensure the closest collaboration to defeat this threat. We also know that there can be no double standard… when you are tackling such a great threat,” he added.
Tandon said that PM Modi’s visit aimed at reinforcing a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific, with New Delhi viewing Wellington as a significant partner in the region.
“The purpose of this visit is to strengthen the rule-based Indo-Pacific order. One of the reasons we look at New Zealand as a significant partner in this part of the world is because of our joint quest for strengthening the rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific, which is very important for India as an Indian Ocean nation,” he stressed.
Highlighting the importance of forging a close strategic partnership, Tandon said India and New Zealand are well-positioned to deepen cooperation as Indian and Pacific Ocean nations.
He noted that India closely monitors developments in adjoining maritime regions and views the Pacific as a vital maritime zone.
“India is an Indian Ocean country, so we are very attentive to what happens in adjoining maritime zones. The Pacific is a very important maritime zone for us, and we’ve always considered New Zealand to be a very important power in this region and a like-minded power. And in fact, to the credit of Prime Minister Luxon, he has been working very hard to impart this new energy to the relationship, which is now a strategic relationship,” the MEA official stated.
“Precisely because of this idea, that as an inhabitant of the Indian Ocean and New Zealand, as an inhabitant of the Pacific Ocean, we need to establish a close strategic relationship,” he added.
–IANS
scor/rs