Konya, Oct 12 (ANI): Stating that international terrorism is an immediate threat to all nations and knows no national boundaries, the visiting Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari on Wednesday said India has called for the adoption of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism to help eradicate this scourge.
Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari was conferred an honorary doctorate for International Relations by Mevlana University at a function in Konya today.
In his thanksgiving speech on the occasion, Vice President Ansari said: "Unless there is a cooperative framework among states and peoples, today's challenges cannot be faced. A case in point is international terrorism. It is an immediate threat to all nations and knows no national boundaries. India has called for the adoption of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism to help eradicate this scourge."
"The same holds for the safety of sea-lanes. Maritime commerce along the sea-lanes of communication has been subjected to piracy being carried out with impunity from areas that are outside State control and not subject to international accountability," he added.
The Vice President said pandemics, global warming and climate change, sustainable development, and issues of equity, both within and across nations, pose substantial challenges to the international order, and added that each requires a cooperative and global approach.
Vice President Ansari said both Turkey and India believe in the need to support and sustain their plural traditions and multi-cultural societies
" Both our countries are secular democracies wherein the will of our peoples is embodied in the supremacy of our Parliaments. Turkey and India believe in the need to support and sustain our plural traditions and multi-cultural societies. Our economies are growing at an impressive rate leading to generation of incomes and employment opportunities to millions of our citizens and improving their standards of living," said Vice President Ansari.
Vice President Ansari noted that both the countries have faced terrorism and have collaborated at international fora on combating terrorism.
"We also have a common stake in the emergence of a cooperative multi-polar world order which recognizes the legitimate aspirations of all countries, big and small," he added.
Stating that all sides must abjure violent means, Vice President Ansari said 'as a member of the Security Council since the beginning of this year, India has been underlining the need to resolve conflicts through political negotiations and diplomatic means, rather than through the use of force'.
"A primary cause of tension, instability and violence in the region is the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. India fully supports the Palestinian people's struggle for a sovereign, independent, viable and united state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognizable borders side by side and at peace with Israel," said Vice President Ansari.
"The conflict is political and cannot be resolved by force. At the same time, protracted negotiations over decades have not achieved the national goals of the Palestinian people and have fuelled disappointment and anger. India was the first non-Arab country to recognize the Palestinian State in 1988 and will support its aspirations in the United Nations," he added.
The Vice President said India has been in touch with the Transitional National Council in Benghazi and Cairo and has reiterated its willingness to extend all possible assistance to the people of Libya in their political transition, rebuilding and reconstruction tasks.
"We are concerned at the unfolding situation in Syria which has resulted in many deaths of civilians and security personnel. We deplore all violence, irrespective of who the perpetrators are. The Syrian government has announced some far-reaching measures and it should be given the time and space to implement them," said Vice President Ansari.
"The actions of the international community should facilitate an inclusive political engagement of the Syrian government and the opposition, rather than complicate the situation through threats of sanctions," he added.
Emphasising that India firmly believes that observance of the rule of law is as important in international affairs as it is within countries and that the political, societal and economic destiny must be the choice of the people, Vice President Ansari said 'the international community has a role in assisting the process of transition, but that does not extend to imposition of external prescriptions'.
The Vice President said Afghanistan, geographically poised between south and central Asia, is a neighbour with historic people-to-people linkages.
"The fratricidal conflict there is a threat to regional and international peace and security. It is India's view that the peace process should be Afghan-led, transparent, inclusive, and based on the acceptance of the Afghan Constitution. Our civilizational links with Afghanistan and our close friendship are embodied in the landmark Strategic Partnership Agreement that we signed during President Karzai's visit to India last week," he added.
Urging the international community to take effective measures to guarantee the sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of Afghanistan, Vice President Ansari said: "The Afghan people have suffered enough and must be allowed to decide their destiny without external interference, coercion or intimidation. India will participate in the forthcoming conferences in Istanbul and Bonn to contribute to regional and international initiatives to support Afghanistan's efforts at nation building."
"We subscribe to the emerging patterns of partnership in Asia based on Asian regionalism, inter-regional dialogue forums with other regions, global and multilateral organizations, and robust bilateral cooperation. We believe that no partnership architecture should be exclusive or exclusionary. It should neither be a reflection of the emerging redistribution of global or regional power nor should it be a platform for projection of narrow economic and political interests of a nation or group of nations," he added.
Vice President Ansari, who is presently on a five-day visit to Turkey, was also conferred the honorary citizenship of Konya. By Praful Kumar Singh (ANI)
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