India, NZ join hands to fight terrorism, condemn attacks in Pulwama, Christchurch

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern on Thursday (September 26) extended support to each other to fight terrorism while strongly condemning the Pulwama and Christchurch terror attacks.

During the meeting of the two leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), they also discussed global and regional issues of mutual interest, including international terrorism, news agency PTI reported.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Modi and Ardern also discussed steps to intensify political, economic, defence, security and people to people relations. “Both countries have strongly condemned and extended support to each other following the Pulwama and Christchurch terror attacks,” the statement said.

Also read | Trump emphasises on India, Pakistan dialogue to solve Kashmir issue

The Pulwama attack in February had claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir and the attack was claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM), spiking the tension between India and Pakistan. In a counter-terror operation, the Indian Air Force had launched an air attack on the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot.

In March, an Australia-born white supremacist had opened fire on worshippers at two mosques in New Zealand’s Christchurch town, claiming the lives of 47 people, including five Indians. Following that, India had supported New Zealand and France’s join Call of Action, which aimed at eliminating terrorist and violent extremist content online, the statement said.

Ardern further noted that the Indian students and the diaspora in her country contribute to the bond between the two countries. She also informed the Indian Prime Minister about New Zealand’s new strategic paper ‘India 2022 – Investing in the relationship’, which is a continuation of the NZ Inc India Strategy 2011, said the report.

Modi also thanked Ardern for accepting his invitation to participate in the event ‘Relevance of Gandhi in the contemporary times’ held on Tuesday. The two leaders also recalled their November 2017 meeting in Manila.

(With inputs from agencies)