Deeming terrorism as the enemy of humanity, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday said during a visit to Saudi Arabia that there was a global need to "delink" religion from such violence. Modi said there can be no distinction between "good" or "bad" terrorism and that it has "no caste, color, creed or religion."
He also warned that "segmented and partial" approaches to counter terrorism will not be effective.
Modi, 65, is the 15th prime minister of India, and has been in office since May 26, 2014.
"India's ties with Saudi Arabia are special. Robust people-to-people ties constitute a key component of our engagement. I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations. Discussions on the regional situation would also be on the agenda," Modi shared in his official statement just prior to the visit. His visit was at the invitation of H.M. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Acknowledging Saudi Arabia's leadership role in fighting terrorism in the Middle East, Modi said India was committed to working with Riyadh, as well as with its partners in the region, to ensure the world is a better and safer place to live in, reports the Economic Times.
Modi said India has sought to challenge and repudiate the terror narrative that global counter-terrorism efforts are directed against any particular religion or ethnic group. "In this context, we deeply appreciate the leadership role being played by Saudi Arabia in the region to fight this menace," he told leading daily Arab News in an interview during his visit.
Saudi Arabia, a country known as the spiritual home of Islam, recently formed a major coalition of 34 Muslim nations to fight terror, particularly the ISIS. Saudi Arabia and India have a counter-terror mechanism as well, cites the Economic Times.
"To defeat terrorism, all those who believe in humanity have to be united. We need to delink religion from terrorism. Terrorism should be dealt in a comprehensive manner. Segmented and partial approaches have historically proven to be at best suboptimal," Modi said.
Modi said both India and Saudi Arabia recognize no cause can justify an act of terror.
To defeat terror, the prime minister said governments across the world should enhance cooperation in intelligence sharing, law enforcement, developing best practices and technologies, as well as in extradition arrangements and capacity-building.
"India has adopted a comprehensive approach through dealing with its individual elements, including controlling the spread of extremist ideology, plugging financing routes, building a counter narrative to radicalization through efforts to stem training and recruitment by terrorists," Modi told the Economic Times.
