India and Turkey strongly condemned the “use of double standards” in combating terrorism and agreed to strengthen cooperation in effectively dealing with the menace both bilaterally and at multilateral fora.
A joint statement, issued after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said both sides urged all the countries and entities to work sincerely to disrupt terrorist networks and their financing and stop cross-border movement of terrorists.
The two leaders also called for early conclusion of negotiations on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT).
The statement said Modi thanked Erdogan for Turkey’s support for India’s membership of the MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime) and its application to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group as well as Wassenaar Arrangement, an export control regime.
On terrorism, the statement said the two leaders reiterated their “strong condemnation of and resolute opposition to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, wherever committed and by whomever, and declared that there could be no justification for terrorism anywhere”.
It said both leaders also strongly condemned the use of “double standards” in addressing the menace of terrorism and agreed to strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism both at the bilateral level and within the multilateral system.
Referring to multilateral export control regimes, it said India and Turkey are united by common interests in preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems
On reforms of the UN, Modi and Erdogan stressed on the need for comprehensive reform of the global body including expansion of the Security Council to make the body more representative, accountable and effective.
Resolving to expand trade ties, Modi and Erdogan agreed that the trade and investment relations between India and Turkey had immense untapped potential for growth.
“The two Leaders agreed to encourage business efforts to achieve a level of at least USD 10 billion by 2020 in bilateral trade,” said the statement.
In the talks, Modi highlighted that Turkish investments in India’s manufacturing sector, especially in India’s flagship programmes like “Make in India” would be mutually beneficial to both sides.
Erdogan agreed that India’s infrastructure requirements and their ambitious vision of developing smart cities match well with Turkish capacities in the construction industry.
Both leaders agreed that mutual cooperation in the field of IT, pharmaceuticals, health and tourism is beneficial to growth of bilateral trade between the two nations.
Pointing to the importance of energy in bilateral relations, Modi and Erdogan expressed their willingness to improve cooperation in the fields of hydrocarbons, renewable energy (solar and wind) and energy efficiency.
“The two leaders agreed that India and Turkey, being among the top 20 economies in the world with sound economic fundamentals and increasing convergence of positions, could contribute to addressing international issues of mutual interest such as new economic order, stability and security of the respective regions,” said the statement.
Both sides agreed that cooperation between India and Turkey in the field of tourism would be useful for enhancing people-to-people contact between the two nations. Modi highlighted that Indian film industry is now producing films and television shows abroad, which will eventually lead to increased tourist interest.
The two sides inked a number of MoUs including one between Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), India and Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA), Turkey.
Another agreement for cooperation was signed between Press Trust of India (PTI) and Anadolu Agency (AA) of Turkey.
The statement said Erdogan extended invitations to President Pranab Mukherjee and to Modi for visiting Turkey at mutually convenient time.
Source: HindustanTimes