Prez. Trump will no longer tolerate terror safe havens: Jim Mattis
NEW DELHI : In a major boost to India, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis on Tuesday said that the administration of President Donald Trump will no longer tolerate terror safe havens anywhere in the world.
There can be no tolerance of terror safe havens, as global leaders, India and US have resolved to work together to eradicate this scourge, Mattis said without naming Pakistan during his talks with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. A joint statement issued after their meeting called on the need for India and the United States to come together to combat the scourge of terrorism.
Calling terrorism a common problem affecting the two countries, Mattis said, ”Our two countries recognise the threat that global terrorism poses to people throughout the world.”
Acknowledging that global terrorism poses a threat to the world, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis hit out at countries harbouring terrorists, saying ‘there can be no tolerance of terrorist safe havens’
In a veiled attack on Pakistan, Jim Mattis, who is on a two-day visit to India, said,” There can be no tolerance of terror safe havens as global leaders India and the United States resolve to work together to eradicate this scourge.
After holding bilateral talks on taking defence cooperation forward, Mattis said, “U.S. goal is to promote pragmatic progress between Washington and New Delhi in our defence partnership, delivering defence inter-changeability aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump’s decision.”
Jim Mattis is on a two-day official visit to India during which the spotlight will remain on combating the Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and multi-billion dollar defence deals with India, including the remotely-controlled ‘unarmed’ Guardian drones for the Indian Navy.
The trip comes weeks after Trump unveiled a new Afghanistan strategy and urged India to increase assistance to the war-torn nation’s economy. He also chided Pakistan for offering safe haven to “agents of chaos”.
Mattis led the American delegation at the talks, while Nirmala Sitharaman led the Indian side.Both sides took the defence cooperation between the two countries to an optimum level by committing to “dismantle the terror infrastructure” as India made it clear to the United States it will not contribute troops to Afghanistan, while continuing its developmental & other assistance to the war-ravaged country.
Mattis said, “In particular, we applaud India’s invaluable contributions to Afghanistan and welcome further efforts to promote Afghanistan’s democracy, stability, and security “. “In the wide-ranging new relationship, security is one of the key strategic pillars, as we work to strengthen our defense relationship. We seek to expand our cooperation in building partnerships across the region,” Mattis said.
Referring to the situation in the war-torned Afghanistan, the US Defence Secretary said, ”We value India’s invaluable contribution to Afghanistan and welcome further efforts to promote democracy, safety and security in the war-ravaged Asian state.”
Reaffirming U.S. support for maritime cooperation across the Indo-Pacific, Mattis said, “Washington values India’s leadership across the Indo-Pacific in addition to our growing global cooperation.”
Calling India to play a larger role in the region, Mattis said, “India has a vital role to play in supporting southeast Asia’s regional institutions – particularly ASEAN and in building partner capacity across the region.”
“We also discussed ways to further deepen the robust defence trade and technology collaboration between our defence industries. We look forward to sharing some of our most advanced defence technologies through the defense technology and trade initiative.
Jim Mattis will later meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NSA Ajit Doval, and hold talks to explore ways to boost the bilateral strategic ties.
