Hitting out at countries which have adopted terrorism as a "tool" in their foreign policy, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged world leaders to impose heavy costs on such countries to eradicate terrorism in every form throughout the world.
Opening the 'No Money for Terror' conference in New Delhi, Modi stressed that tactical gains will soon be lost unless there is a larger strategy aimed at stifling money for terror.
Representatives from 72 countries are taking part in the two-day conference. However, Delhi decided not to invite Pakistan and Afghanistan to the event, although China has not joined either.
“Certain countries support terrorism as part of their foreign policy. They offer political, ideological, and financial support to them. International organizations must not think that the absence of war means peace. Proxy wars are also dangerous and violent,” the Indian prime minister told his audience.
It is important that the world combines to tackle the problem of radicalization and extremism, including through the UN Security Council and Interpol to boost cooperation in the “prevention, detection and prosecution of illegal fund flows”, he said.
14 November 2022, 17:34 GMT
Modi also stressed that every terrorist attack should be met with the same degree of outrage and action, and noted that the intensity of the reaction to various attacks "cannot be based on where they occurred”.
“Challenges from the dark net, private currencies and more are emerging. There is a need for a uniform understanding of new finance technologies. It is also important to involve the private sector in these efforts,” the Indian Prime Minister advised.
Acknowledging how difficult it will be to come up with an international regulatory framework, the Indian leader said that despite a different set of rules, countries should not allow extremists to “misuse differences between systems.”
The present conference is built on what had been learnt from the previous two conferences held in Paris in April 2018 and in Melbourne in November 2019.