India lives in most difficult neighbourhood: Chidambaram

New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) Indian Home Minister P
Chidambaram Friday said that India lives in the "most
difficult neighbourhood" in the world as terrorism
infrastructure in Pakistan has flourished "as an instrument of
state policy".
Calling for stronger Indo-US ties to combat terrorism and
other threats, Chidambaram stressed on the need for a "stable,
peaceful and prosperous neighbourhood" for the security of the
people of India.
"It is a truism to say that India lives in perhaps the
most difficult neighbourhood in the world. The global
epicentre of terrorism is in our immediate western
neighbourhood.
"The vast infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan has for
long flourished as an instrument of state policy," he said in
his opening remarks at India-US Homeland Security Dialogue
being held here.
Terming terrorism as the "principal challenge" for both
the countries, the Home Minister advocated the need to deal
with a range of other challenges, including counterfeit
currency, narcotics trafficking, threats and risks in cyber
space.
"Today, different terrorist groups, operating from the
safe havens in Pakistan, are becoming increasingly fused. The
society in Pakistan has become increasingly radicalised. Its
economy has weakened and the state structure in Pakistan has
become fragile.
"Given the complexity of our region, our Government has a
comprehensive neighbourhood strategy that is based on
political engagement, especially with Pakistan, support for
political stability, assistance for economic development and
improved connectivity and market access for our neighbours to
the Indian economy," Chidambaram said.
"A stable, peaceful and prosperous neighbourhood is vital
for the security of the people of India," he said.
During the bilateral dialogue with his American
counterpart Janet Napolitano, Chidambaram said, "A strong and
effective India-US cooperation in homeland security and
counter-terrorism is indispensable for our strategic
partnership.
"One of the key elements of the India-US relationship is
our engagement on the issue of terrorism and on
counter-terrorism cooperation. Dealing with the challenge of
terrorism is a priority for the people of India. There has
always been great public and political expectation about
India-US cooperation on counter-terrorism.
"This is because of our shared values, the growth of
strategic partnership between our two countries, US expertise
and capabilities, and the perception in India that the United
States exercises a strong influence on the country that is
the hub of global terror," the Home Minister said.
Chidambaram also appreciated the US efforts to bring the
perpetrators of Mumbai terror attack, and others associated
with it, to justice.
"Our cooperation must cover all aspects of the challenges
that we face (by) anticipating and predicting threats, taking
preventive or pre-emptive measures, or responding effectively
and quickly to incidents.
"Therefore, we must further deepen our ties in
intelligence, information and assessment sharing, cooperation
in investigations and forensics, protecting cities,
infrastructure, people and trade and developing capabilities,"
he said.
The Home Minister proposed a meeting between Home
Secretary and the US Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security
after six months to review progress.