India, Bolivia denounce cross border terrorism

Pic courtesy/Twitter/Ram Nath Kovind

Bolivia: Denouncing cross border terrorism in forceful terms, India and Bolivia have underlined the need for all States to resolutely fight terrorism and affirmed the need to hold its perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors accountable and bring them to justice. A joint statement, issued after talks between President Ram Nath Kovind and his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales Ayma, on Saturday said the two leaders discussed multilateral issues of mutual interest, in particular reforms of the UN Security Council, fight against terrorism and climate change.

The two sides stressed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. "They reaffirmed that all acts of terrorism are crimes against humanity, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed. They underlined the need for all States to resolutely fight terrorism," the statement said. "The two leaders affirmed the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. (They) Denounced cross border terrorism in forceful terms," it added. India thanked Bolivia for "strongly condemning" the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group that killed 40 CRPF soldiers.

The two leaders called upon all countries to strengthen cooperation to take "decisive and concerted actions" against globally proscribed terrorists and terrorist entities and for the early finalisation of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. They reaffirmed their commitment to reformed multilateralism including comprehensive reforms of the UN Security Council to make it more democratic, representative, accountable, effective, and reflective of the new realities of the 21st Century, in order to face the new challenges and threats to international peace and security, the statement said.

Bolivia reiterated its support for India's candidature for a permanent seat in the expanded UNSC. The two leaders reviewed the entire spectrum of the bilateral relations and agreed to widen and deepen cooperation in trade and commerce, investments including commercial tie-ups, mineral resources, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, solar and renewable energy, ICT and space, capacity building and technical cooperation, education and culture, among others. They recognised the need to tap into abundant solar energy to fight climate change and also agreed to establish cooperation links in the field of geology and mineral resources, through sharing of good practices, exchange of experiences and development of joint activities, the statement said.

They agreed to forge mutually beneficial partnership to facilitate Bolivian supplies of lithium Carbonate to India and foster joint ventures for Lithium battery/cell production plants in India. Considering the enormous hydrocarbon potential of Bolivia and with a view to energy integration, based on the execution of a joint gas exploration strategy, the two leaders expressed their interest to explore investments in exploration and development of different areas of hydrocarbon interest, the statement said. They agreed to explore the export of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Bolivia to India, and also feasibility of laying a gas pipeline and setting up of a LNG plant on mutually agreed terms. The cooperation in the field of health would also include exchange of best practices between two countries including cooperation in traditional medicine such as Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), the statement said.
Recognising that Yoga is an invaluable gift of Indian tradition, the two leaders underlined its holistic approach to health and well-being. Indian side thanked Bolivia for its wholehearted support and participation every year in the International Day of Yoga.

They also expressed their willingness to develop projects for sharing of experiences in space technology applications including use of remote satellite data in agriculture; forest protection and management; water resources and other related topics, the statement said. The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in the area of IT-ITeS (Information Technology Enabled Services) sector with a view to promote business-to-business cooperation and meeting the growing needs of present knowledge economy. The two sides expressed satisfaction that the bilateral trade has grown significantly during the recent years while noting that there was a lot of untapped potential. "They particularly emphasized the need to diversify the trade basket and agreed to closely consult and exchange information to identify sectors that hold potential to strengthen bilateral trade, prioritizing therein value added products," it said.

They also agreed to explore cooperation for the construction project of the Bioceanic Integration Railway Corridor that links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Bolivia welcomed the offer by India of USD 100 million Line of Credit for financing development projects. The two sides also agreed to promote tourist linkages, building on their rich tangible and intangible cultural heritage including historical monuments and sites that the two countries proudly host. Recalling that the year 2019 marks the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the two sides agreed to jointly celebrate through organisation of commemorative events.

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