Terrorism, gravest threat in Asia: India

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of terror at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan, India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar stated that it is the "gravest threat" that "we face in Asia today" at a summit held in Tajikistan.

Speaking at the conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit in Tajik capital Dushanbe, Jaishankar said, "Many CICA members are victims of terrorism and should be clear that terrorists and their victims must never be equated."

At the summit, New Delhi called for early finalisation of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) proposed by India in 2016 and proposed a common definition on terror.

On regional connectivity initiatives, India reiterated, that the projects should be "inclusive, sustainable, transparent and respect the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity", a message for Bejing, whose China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes through Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

CPEC is part of China's mega connectivity plan 'Belt and Road' initiative which plans to connect China with rest of Asia and beyond.CICA is 26-member group based in Kazakhstan.

On the sidelines of CICA, EAM Jaishankar met vice president of Vietnam Mme Đang Thi Ngoc Thinh, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid Al Khalifa, Iran's foreign minister Javad Zarif and Bangladesh's AK Abdul Momen.

About CPEC

CPEC is part of China’s mega connectivity plan ‘Belt and Road’ initiative which plans to connect China with rest of Asia and beyond.