Washington DC [US] February 14 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India and the United States have stood firmly together in the fight against terrorism and agree that concerted action is necessary to tackle cross-border terrorism.
In his statement in the joint press conference with US President Donald Trump, PM Modi lauded the decision of United States to hand over 2008 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana and said the Indian courts will now take appropriate action.
India has been facing the scourge of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
"India and the United States have stood firmly together in the fight against terrorism. We agree that concerted action is necessary to eradicate cross-border terrorism," PM Modi said.
"I am thankful to the President that he has decided to hand over the culprit who committed the killings in India in 2008, to India now. Indian courts will now take appropriate action," he added.
The joint statement issued after the bilateral talks said that PM Modi and President Trump called on on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai, and Pathankot attacks and ensure that its territory is not used to carry out cross-border terrorist attacks.
The joint statement mentioned the need for cooperation against Pakistan-based terror groups - Jaish-e Mohammad, and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.
The two leaders reaffirmed that the global scourge of terrorism must be fought and terrorist safe havens eliminated from every corner of the world.
"They committed to strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats from groups, including Al-Qa'ida, ISIS, Jaish-e Mohammad, and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba in order to prevent heinous acts like the attacks in Mumbai on 26/11 and the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan on August 26, 2021," the statement said.
"Recognizing a shared desire to bring to justice those who would harm our citizens, the US announced that the extradition to India of Tahawwur Rana has been approved," it added.
PM Modi and President Trump also pledged to work together to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems and to deny access to such weapons by terrorists and non-state actors," it said.
As part of commitment towards energy security, the two leaders announced their commitment to fully realize the US-India 123 Civil Nuclear Agreement by moving forward with plans to work together to build US-designed nuclear reactors in India through large scale localization and possible technology transfer.
"Both sides welcomed the recent Budget announcement by Government of India to take up amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA) for nuclear reactors, and further decided to establish bilateral arrangements in accordance with CLNDA, that would address the issue of civil liability and facilitate the collaboration of Indian and US industry in the production and deployment of nuclear reactors," the statement said.
"This path forward will unlock plans to build large U.S.-designed reactors and enable collaboration to develop, deploy and scale up nuclear power generation with advanced small modular reactors," it added.
President Trump and Prime Minister Modi noted the importance of advancing the people-to-people ties between the two countries.
In this context, they noted that the more than 3,00,000 strong Indian student community contributes over USD 8 billion annually to the US economy and helped create a number of direct and indirect jobs.
They recognized that the talent flow and movement of students, researchers and employees, has mutually benefitted both countries.
"Recognizing the importance of international academic collaborations in fostering innovation, improving learning outcomes and development of a future-ready workforce, both leaders resolved to strengthen collaborations between the higher education institutions through efforts such as joint/dual degree and twinning programs, establishing joint Centers of Excellence, and setting up of offshore campuses of premier educational institutions of the United States in India," the statement said.
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