Riyadh [Saudi Arabia], May 29 : Rajya Sabha MP Rekha Sharma, part of an all-party delegation led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda, on Thursday emphasised India's growing strength and its commitment to eliminating terrorism.
Sharma highlighted India's rising global stature in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, citing its military power, development, and infrastructure growth.
The Rajya Sabha MP met with the Indian diaspora members residing in Saudi Arabia and said that "Pakistan is no match for us," while India is on the path to being a strong nation.
Sharma noted that India is currently the world's fourth-largest economy and aims to become the third-largest by 2027, with a long-term goal of becoming the number one economy by 2040. She expressed confidence in India's growing strength, stating that the country is now a leader in speaking out against terrorism.
"Today India is on the path to becoming a strong nation - be it military power or development or infrastructure, look at it any way, we are on the fourth position (of leading economies in the world) and we aim to be the third in 2027. We are speaking of being the number 1 till 2040....I don't think Pakistan is any match for us," said Sharma.
Sharma emphasised that India would allow its neighbours to work towards peace. However, she made it clear that talks with Pakistan will only be possible when they take concrete action against terrorism. Sharma also stated that any discussions would focus on Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
"Still, we want to give them a chance. If we think just about war, our development goal will lag behind. But it doesn't mean that we will tolerate terrorism," Sharma told during the interaction.
Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's words, she highlighted, "PM has clearly said that we will talk to Pakistan only when it takes some action against terrorism. Talks will be held only on Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir...I think all big countries of the world are standing with us."
Meanwhile, BJP MP and delegation leader Baijayant Panda interacted with the members of the Indian diaspora. He underlined that India has solved any border problems with other neighbouring countries, too, mentioning how Bangladesh has connectivity and deals with India.
"We have a track record of never invading any other country, we have solved problems with others...like with Bangladesh, there had been an interruption, but with them there is reconnection of trade, electricity and trains. We also want the same thing on our western border. Many of our leaders tried very hard," he said.
Talking about PM Modi inviting Pakistani leaders to "fight poverty together" he said that the problem swarely lies in Pakistani's army, not its politicians, people or anyone else.
"Remember (PM) Modiji, inviting the Pakistani leaders and going to Pakistan, let us not fight each other, let us jointly fight poverty. They have not listened. They're still struggling in their economy, and in these last 10 years, we have pulled 250 million people out of poverty. So this is an unfortunate problem because with Pakistan, there is no problem with the people of Pakistan. There is no problem with the politicians, the businessmen, or the academics. The entire problem is in the army," he said.
Earlier today, the delegation interacted with Abdulaziz Al Sager, the Chairman and Founder of the Gulf Research Center. During the delegation's engagements, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi informed the Saudi officials that Pakistan is propagating terrorism and targeting Indian citizens, and urged them to bring Pakistan back to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List to curb terror financing.
The all-party delegation, consisting of seven groups led by one MP each, has been initiated to counter global misinformation and highlight India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism.
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