"Highly successful visit of all-party delegation": Indian envoy
Brussels [Belgium], June 5 (ANI): India's Ambassador to Belgium, Saurabh Kumar, said the all-party delegation's visit to Brussels was very successful. In just one and a half days, the delegation held over 10 meetings with leaders from the European Union and Belgium.
He said the group shared India's concerns about cross-border terrorism, details of Operation Sindoor, and called for global support for zero tolerance against terrorism.
Speaking to ANI, Saurabh Kumar said, '...It was a highly successful visit of the all-party delegation. In the one and a half days the delegation was in Brussels, they had over 10 meetings. Most of them were on the EU side, but two meetings were also on the Belgian side, both on the Parliamentary level and on the executive side. They met people at the highest levels. The message about cross-border terrorism directed against India that has to end, details about Operation Sindoor and our expectations from the international community and zero tolerance against terrorism - all these messages were made to all the interlocutors. These messages were well-appreciated and we got good responses from them.'
Kumar said India is working to strengthen ties with the European Union, especially in areas like counter-terrorism and ending cross-border terrorism.
He said both sides had positive talks during the all-party delegation's visit to Brussels, and the EU showed understanding about India's concerns. He added that India looks forward to a summit with the EU soon and that both sides agree that those behind terror attacks must be punished.
'We look forward to close cooperation with the European Union...This is to build up on the relationship, there is a geopolitical environment which favours greater and deeper ties between India and the EU. So, counter-terrorism, how to end cross-border terrorism, build up and deepen our strategic partnership, all parts of our conversations which are going on with the EU. We look forward to having a Summit with the EU, which is due, and dates for that would also be worked out. But in the specific context of the visit of the all-Parliamentary delegation to Brussels and the engagement with the EU, the message was conveyed to the European side in a very constructive and positive manner. The response from the European side was that they understand the menace of cross-border terrorism and that steps should be taken. India has the right to protect its citizens, and the perpetrators of the heinous acts should be brought to justice,' Kumar said.
Kumar further noted that Belgium is showing strong interest in working with India, mentioning a recent visit by Princess Astrid with a large business team that met top Indian leaders. He said both sides plan to continue this strong engagement.
'On the EU side, there is high-level political engagement and we are looking forward to the Summit, and the Summit would really set the course for our relationship for the next couple of years. On the Belgian side, Princess Astrid led a very large economic mission to India, which had 3 ministers in it and had good interaction with the Prime Minister, EAM, Defence Minister, Commerce and Industry Minister, and we would be following up on interactions which happened during this visit. We also look forward to high-level engagement with the Belgian side continuing,' Kumar said.
The all-party delegation to Belgium is led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, also includes BJP MPs Daggubati Purandeswari and Samik Bhattacharya, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress MPs Ghulam Ali Khatana and Amar Singh, former Union Minister MJ Akbar, and former Ambassador Pankaj Saran.
This diplomatic effort forms part of India's global outreach following Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam by Pakistan-sponsored militants that claimed 26 lives.
Subsequently, the Indian Armed Forces carried out targeted strikes against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of over 100 terrorists linked to groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. (ANI)
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