During a Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA)’, India called for “concerted action” to face the challenges of terrorism, radicalisation, drug trafficking, and organised crime in Asia.
The Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that New Delhi values the forum’s vision of promoting peace, security and prosperity in Asia. “In Asia, we face the challenges of terrorism, radicalisation, drug trafficking, and organised crime. To face these diverse challenges, we need to undertake concerted action,” Shringla was quoted in a Ministry of External Affairs statement.
During the conference, he spoke about India’s vision of “free, open and inclusive” Indo-Pacific. Shringla said, “India’s vision of the Indo-Pacific as a free, open and inclusive region underpinned by international law is premised on the common pursuit of progress and prosperity. In this direction, India has traditionally maintained close and friendly cooperation with regional organisations in Asia, including CICA,” he said. While highlighting the cooperation and challenges faced by the countries amid Covid-19, he said that the pandemic has exposed the faultlines in global supply chains and also underlined the need for global solidarity and strengthened multilateralism.