New York: In his address to US thinktank Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in New York, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday emphasised on the need to deal with terrorism effectively and said “Tourism unites, Terrorism divides”.
“Terrorism has no borders, no ideology. Terrorism is something everyone in the world is troubled with. We need to take the issue of terrorism very seriously. I am sad to say that some countries have not been able to understand the evils of terrorism. It is our biggest challenge,” he said.
“Terrorism is exported to India. There is no home grown terrorism in India. There cannot be a distinction between good and bad terrorism. Terrorism is terrorism,†he added.
Modi also spoke on his efforts to build regional cooperation saying that India offered help to Pakistan “on humanitarian grounds” when floods struck the nation. “We want peace with our neighbours. I invited the heads of the SAARC nations for our swearing-in ceremony. That’s the way to take the world forward,” he said.
Modi sold his vision of a new India which will be built on the three pillars of the economy – agriculture, manufacturing and service.
“We want to develop our economy on the pillars of agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors. We want to create a balance,” Modi said, adding that ‘Make in India’ was a “step towards that goal”.
He said India was aiming to make ‘zero defect, zero effect’ the motto of its manufacturing sector where Indian products will have no defects and will have no adverse impact on environment.
He also laid stress on Food Security and said “Food security and trade facilitation must go together. That is what we believe in.â€
He also added that “India and China are capable of resolving issues through talks. There is no need for any arbitration.â€
He said 18th and 19th century were full of struggles. Each country tried to expand. Then came era of groups. Today all countries in the world are interdependent on each other.
He focussed on what India and America can do together. “There are some things which bind America and India together. Democracy and openness are two of them. The third is the economy,” he said.