Port of Spain, Nov 28 (Inditop.com) A day after the first anniversary of the Mumbai attacks, Britain and France assured India about their intention to “stay the course in Afghanistan” and redouble their efforts to combat terrorism emanating from Pakistan and the region.
In separate bilateral talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Friday on the sidelines of the Commonwealth summit here, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underlined the need for staying engaged in Afghanistan.
The leaders agreed on the need for the international community to stay the course in Afghanistan, Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said in the Trinidadian capital.
“There was a convergence of views on the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They agreed that more vigorous efforts are required to combat terrorism in the region,” Prakash said.
“There should be no double standards in fighting terrorism,” he said.
During his four-day visit to the US, Manmohan Singh repeatedly stressed on the need for the international community to continue their engagement with Afghanistan and found a meeting of minds with President Barack Obama on the issue.
In his one-hour meeting with Manmohan Singh, Sarkozy expressed France’s solidarity with India on the first anniversary of the Mumbai attacks and called for bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage to justice.
The two leaders also decided to expand their counter-terrorism cooperation and continue their ongoing engagement in the sphere of civilian nuclear cooperation.
