India, US solidify anti-terror ties
August 30, 2016, 5:18 pm

Both Kerry and Swaraj agreed that Pakistan must do more to end militants using its territory to launch terrorist attacks against India [Xinhua]

The agreements to boost anti-terrorism cooperation by exchanging screening information were signed during the second US-India Strategic Dialogue summit in New Delhi and attended by Secretary of State John Kerry and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.

“We both agreed that nations must not maintain double standards, such as the categorization of good and bad terrorists,” Swaraj said at a joint press conference following their meeting.

She was speaking in reference to militants crossing over from neighboring Pakistan to carry out terrorist attacks such as in Mumbai in 2008.

“Nor should they act as safe havens,” she added.

Kerry agreed with Swaraj, saying: “It is vital that Pakistan join with other nations in tackling this challenge, and in fairness, in recent weeks and months they have been moving more authoritatively.”

They both also agreed to boost their cooperation in battling cyberterrorism.

In the meantime, India’s Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is visiting Washington, and US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter signed an agreement that allows the two allies to use each other’s land, air and maritime military bases “for repair and resupply”.

Parrikar later told a press conference that New Delhi and Washington were strengthening their military ties to unprecedented levels.

A government statement from New Delhi said: “India and the US have signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in Washington DC. LEMOA is a facilitating agreement that establishes basic terms, conditions, and procedures for reciprocal provision of logistic support, supplies, and services between the armed forces of India and the US.”

The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies