Saudi support in war against terror

Pressing for an urgent and concerted effort from global community, Saudi Arabia, a key ally of Pakistan, has voiced its concern against the growing terrorism. India has intensified its diplomatic offensive against Pakistan who is not ready to accept that Mumbai terror attacks were carried out by elements coming from its soil.

Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi on Friday, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal extended its cooperation to India to stamp out terrorism completely and proposed for creation of a global agency to jointly fight the menace of terrorism.

'Terrorism is a cancer, we need to cut it out and destroy completely so that tragedies like Mumbai are not repeated again,' said the Saudi foreign minister and added that global terrorism needs to be dealt with joint action by all countries.

New Delhi has been trying to persuade international community to put pressure on Pakistan to clamp down terror infrastructure in that country following the 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai that left over 180 dead, including 26 foreigners.

Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee also shared evidences of the involvement of Pakistani elements in the Nov 26 Mumbai terror attacks and urged Saudi authority to use its influence over Muslim world and Pakistan to curb extremism.

Mukherjee also highlighted the issue as a ‘global problem’ and not a bilateral one by asking Pakistan to take immediate steps to dismantle terror apparatus. 'Whatever action has to be taken to control terrorism should be taken without further delay and with transparency,' his office said in a statement.

New Delhi also sought Riyadh’s support to rein in financing terrorists as in some cases individual or organisations use Saudi charities and other fronts to generate fund for terror activities, sources said.

Both the countries have developed a close-tie and it would be recalled that King Abdullah was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day Celebrations in India in January 2006, and Mukherjee too had a visit to Riyadh earlier this year in April.

The Saudi foreign minister, who was on a day-long visit to India, also called on the Vice-President Hamid Ansari, met Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed, and National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan before leaving for Riyadh last evening.

Discussions were also held on various topics to expand bilateral ties in terms of Trade, Commerce, Investments, IT, Energy etc. It was noted that two-way trade between both sides had crossed $16 billion in 2006-2007.