Biden meets Modi, says Quad means business
TOKYO, May 24: The leaders of India, Australia, Japan and the United States today unequivocally condemned terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, and reiterated their condemnation of terrorist attacks, including the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks perpetrated by Pakistan-based terror groups.
In a Quad Joint Leaders’ statement issued after the second in-person meeting of the Quad leaders here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australia’s newly-elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reiterated that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever.
“We condemn unequivocally terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations,” the statement said.
The four leaders denounced the use of terrorist proxies and emphasised the importance of denying any logistical, financial or military support to terrorist groups which could be used to launch or plan terror attacks, including cross-border attacks, it said, without naming any country.
“We reiterate our condemnation of terrorist attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks,” the leaders said in the joint statement.
Terrorists of Pakistan-based outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) had carried out the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and the January 2016 Pathankot airbase attack.
JuD, led by Hafiz Saeed, is the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
Saeed, a Pakistani national, is a UN-designated terrorist on whom the US has placed a USD 10 million bounty.
Last month, the Indian Government designated as a terrorist Ali Kashif Jan, the Pakistani handler of the 2016 terror attack on Pathankot air base in which six terrorists and seven Indian soldiers were killed.
India has been asking Pakistan to take credible, verifiable and irreversible actions against terrorist networks and proxies operating from its soil and bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attack to justice.
In their joint statement, the Quad leaders also reaffirmed the UNSC Resolution 2593 (2021), which demands that the Afghan territory must never again be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or finance terrorist attacks.
“We emphasise the importance of upholding international standards on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism by all countries, consistent with FATF recommendations.
“We reaffirm that in our fight against global terrorism, we will take concerted action against all terrorist groups, including those individuals and entities designated pursuant to the UNSC Resolution 1267(1999),” it said.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
The Paris-based FATF has placed Pakistan on its grey list since June 2018 for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing, and was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019.
Since then, Pakistan continues to be on the FATF’s list due to its failure to comply with the FATF mandates.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden today said that Quad is “not just a passing fad but it means business,” asserting that the four leaders of the grouping are here to get things done for the strategic Indo-Pacific region and that he is proud of what they are building together.
Addressing the second in-person meeting between Quad leaders, Biden attacked Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, saying Moscow is trying to extinguish a culture.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australia’s newly-elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended the second in-person meeting of Quad leaders here during which they exchanged views about developments in the Indo-Pacific region and global issues of mutual interest.
Biden welcomed Prime Minister Modi at the Summit and said “it is wonderful to see you again in person”.
“We share the same goal of ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific that will deliver greater prosperity and greater opportunity for all of our children. I am looking forward to continuing to work with all of you and to strengthen economic cooperation to deliver inclusive growth and shared prosperity,” Biden said in his opening remarks.
“We’ve shown that Quad is not just a passing fad, we mean business. We’re here to get things done for the region, and I’m proud of what we’re building together and I look forward to our vital partnership flourishing and for many years to come,” Biden said.
He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is just trying to extinguish a culture. This is more than a European issue. It is a global issue.
On the global food security issue in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is one of the major exporters of wheat, the US President said that the global food crisis may worsen by Russia blocking Ukraine from exporting its grains.
“As long as Russia continues war against Ukraine, the US will work with its partners,” Biden vowed.
He also spoke about the importance of the Quad grouping in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, partnering on supply chains among others. Much of his remarks focused on the war in Ukraine.
“We are navigating a dark hour in our shared history.
Addressing the Quad summit, newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Albanese said that his government is committed to working with the Quad countries. (PTI)
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