NEW DELHI, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Indian PM says SAARC should fight terror together
New Delhi, Nov 18 (UPI): Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries should fight terrorism together.
"We have a collective stake in ensuring peace and security in the SAARC region because no investor will come to this region if there is no assurance of peace and security, " Singh said while inaugurating the first SAARC Business Leaders' Conference in the Capital Delhi, The Hindu newspaper said Friday.
He said SAARC nations must join hands to put our collective house in order, as peace in the region will benefit all. "Terrorism anywhere will hurt us all," Singh said. He said business and trade would flourish in a secure environment.
"Terrorism by any name, has no place in civilized societies and its basic goal to cause insecurity, " Singh said.
At the 13th Summit of the South Asian body, the members countries have vowed to launch a joint fight against terrorism, which has deeply penetrated in the region. India, a major sufferer of terror, has been asking its western and eastern neighbors Pakistan and Bangladesh to dismantle terror infrastructure that existed in their soils. Two neighbors have denied the charge, however.
"No country in this region can be secure when others are insecure and no country can insulate itself from the consequences of poverty and terrorism in any other country, " Singh said.
Singh allayed the apprehensions expressed by SAARC business leaders that free trade agreement in the region could hurt the smaller countries and said the SAARC leaders should move fast to meet the deadline for the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), which has is yet to see the light of the day.
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