India, S Arabia sign extradition treaty;pledge to fight terror

V Mohan Narayan

Riyadh, Mar 1 (PTI) India and Saudi Arabia have vowed to
jointly combat terrorism and money laundering as they signed
an Extradition Treaty and several agreements to raise their
cooperation to a strategic partnership covering security,
economic, energy and defence areas.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Saudi King
Abdullah who held wide-ranging discussions here on Sunday,
signed the Riyadh Declaration outlining the contours of a new
era of strategic partnership between the two countries.
After the unprecedented welcome on Saturday when the
entire Saudi Cabinet was present to receive him at the airport
on his arrival, Singh was accorded a grand reception at the
imposing Al Rawadah Palace.
King Abdullah received the Indian Prime Minister and
participated in the whole welcome ceremony, a rare honour
bestowed on visiting dignitaries.
Both sides emphasised the importance of strengthening the
strategic energy partnership in line with the Delhi
Declaration of 2006, including meeting India's increasing
requirement of crude oil supplies and identifying areas of new
and renewable energy. India invited Saudi Arabia to
participate in crude storage facilities in the country.
The two leaders condemned terrorism, extremism and
violence affirming that it is global and threatens all
societies and is not linked to any race, colour and belief.
Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation in exchange of
information relating to terrorist activities, money
laundering, narcotics, arms and human trafficking, and develop
joint strategies to combat these threats.
The two leaders emphasised that continued building of
settlements by Israel constitutes a fundamental stumbling
block for the peace process.
The Declaration said Singh and King Abdullah reiterated
their support for the ongoing international efforts to resolve
the issues relating to Iran's nuclear programme peacefully
through dialogue.
They asked Iran to respond to these efforts in order to
remove regional and international doubts about its nuclear
programme.
This was especially so as these efforts ensure the right
of Iran and other countries to peaceful uses of nuclear energy
according to the yardsticks and procedures of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and under its
supervision.
The situation in Afghanistan figured in the talks and the
two leaders called for preservation of the country's
sovereignty and independence.
They supported the efforts of the Afghan people to
achieve stability and security, protected from exploitation by
the terrorist organisations. PTI VMN