Urgent action needed to root out terror: President Pranab Mukherjee

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee called for “urgent collective action” in order to eliminate the scourge of terrorism from which no country is immune.

The President said this while interacting with visiting Chief of Royal Court of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Fayez Al-Tarawneh, who called on him on Wednesday at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Emphasising on India’s ties with Jordan, the President said India attaches great value to them.

“India appreciates Jordan’s proactive role under the leadership of King Abdullah on regional issues, especially towards resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and addressing the scourge of terrorism that has affected our regions and the world,” he said.

Mr Mukherjee added no country is safe from terrorism and urgent collective action is needed to eradicate it. The President said India lauds Jordan’s exceptional humanitarian assistance in hosting refugees from its war-torn neighbourhood despite the tremendous strain on its socio-economic resources.

He said India was happy that it could make a contribution to help mitigate the crisis adding he had warm memories of his recent visit to Jordan, the first-ever visit by an Indian head of state to Jordan.

President Mukherjee said India-Jordan bilateral trade which was at $1.35 billion in 2015-16 is expected to touch new heights. “India is happy that Jordan is interested in cooperation in security and defence, space, and fertilisers among others,” he said.