New Delhi, May 2 Condemning the menace of terrorism, India and Turkey on Monday expressed their common concern over its menace and urged nations to destroy its global network.
They also called for enhancing their bilateral economic relations.
“Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, wherever committed and by whomever, and declared that there could be no justification for terrorism anywhere,” said the Joint Statement after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan held talks along with their delegations.
“Both Leaders 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,” it said, adding that they also sought early conclusion of negotiations on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
The statement also underlined the shared interest of India and Turkey in strengthening global non-proliferation objectives. In this regard, Erdogan welcomed India’s accession to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in June 2016.
Modi thanked Erdogan for Turkey’s support for India’s membership of the MTCR and applications to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group and Wassenaar Arrangement.
The statement also recognised the need for comprehensive UN reforms including the Security Council expansion to make the body more representative, accountable and effective and the two sides agreement to to work towards its reform in order to enhance its democratic nature and to reflect the reality of the 21st century.
According to the statement, India and Turkey noted that there is an immense untapped potential for growth in the trade bilateral trade and investment. They also agreed to encourage business efforts to achieve a level of at least $10 billion by 2020 in bilateral trade.
The bilateral trade between India and Turkey is $ 6.4 billion.
The two sides expressed desire to hold the Turkey-India Joint Economic Committee meetings regularly.
Both leaders agreed that cooperation in the field of IT, pharmaceuticals, health and tourism will improve the bilateral trade between the two nations.
On the energy sector, the two sides agreed to improve cooperation in the fields of hydrocarbons, renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Taking note of the tourism potential of the two nations, the two leaders agreed to encourage more tourist exchanges.