Narendra Modi in Maldives: PM slams Pakistan during address to parliament, says 'some still believe in good terrorists, bad terrorists'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his first foreign visit after reelection as prime minister, slammed Pakistan while addressing the Maldivian Parliament. Modi, speaking at the People’s Majlis, said, “Terrorism is one of the biggest threats facing the world today. This danger is not against one country or region, but against humanity itself. Not a day passes when terrorism does not take the life of an innocent. Terrorists don’t have banks and weapons factories of their own. Despite that, they don’t have any lack of money or weapons. Where do the terrorists get these weapons? State-sponsored terrorism is the reason behind this,” he said. “People still try to create notions of ‘good terrorist, bad terrorist’,” he added. “The water is going above the head now.” “The world united to act against climate change. Why can’t we take a similar decision against terrorism?” he said. “I appeal to all countries to organise a global conference against terrorism so that we can figure out a way to put an end to the means available to terrorists. If we don’t act now, the generations to come won’t forgive us,” he added. [caption id=“attachment_6778731” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Maldivian Parliament. ANI[/caption] Stressing on the ties between India and Maldives, Modi further said, “Maldives is a gem in not only the Indian Ocean, but also in the world. This beautiful place has attracted people through the ages.” “This Majlis is not just a building made of stones and cement. This is a platform where the hopes and aspirations of the people echo. Maldives has shown that the citizen is always the winner in a democracy.” “Recently, India also finished the world’s biggest democratic exercise,” he said. “For 130 crore Indians, this was a mega-festival of democracy. ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas aur sabka vishwas’ is the basis for not only our government’s internal but also external policies. Neighbourhood first is a top priority for our government,” he added. “India and Madlives’ links are older than history itself. The waves between India and Maldives tell a story of the friendship between our people. India’s efforts have always been to support Maldives in times of need. India is proud of Maldives’ growth,” said the prime minister. “India and Maldives signed a $1.4 billion trade deal when (Maldives) President Solih came to India. Dozens of social impact projects started by India have affected the lives of several people in Maldives,” Modi said. The prime minister also said that inequality due to technology and climate change were other challenges facing the world today. “We need to be aware of the challenges of the world today. Differences between people because of technology are some of the problems facing the world today. We are living the reality of climate change daily. Our farmers are getting affected because of drying rivers,” he said. “I had earlier outlined the SAGAR vision for the Indo-Pacific region. Security And Growth for All in the Region is the blueprint for development in this region,” he added. Modi and Maldivian president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih held wide-ranging talks on Saturday as the two countries signed six agreements to strengthen bilateral cooperation in key areas like defence and maritime security. Modi arrived in the Indian Ocean archipelago on Saturday on his first foreign visit after reelection as prime minister to strengthen the bilateral ties, reflecting the importance India attaches to its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. The first Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was for cooperation in the fields of hydrography. Another was on health. The other agreements were on the establishment of passenger and cargo services by sea, cooperation in customs capacity building between the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs of India and the Maldives Customs Service. An MoU was also signed between the National Centre for Good Governance, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and Maldives Civil Service Commission on Training and Capacity Building Programme for Maldivian civil servants. A technical agreement on sharing white shipping information between the Indian Navy and the Maldives National Defence Force was also signed. With inputs from PTI