PM's US visit: Collective fight needed to tackle terrorism, says Narendra Modi

NEW YORK: Rejecting any distinction between good and bad terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called for a collective fight to effectively tackle the global menace.

"There is no good terrorist or bad terrorist," Modi said while addressing the Council for Foreign Relations here.

"There is a need to take the challenge of terrorism seriously. It's sad that many countries could not earlier understand the ugly face of terrorism which is enemy of humanity," he said.

The Prime Minister, who dwelt at length on the threat posed by terrorism, said it cannot be measured on the scale of political plus and minus.

"The world will have to speak in one voice against terrorism," he stressed.

In his address, Modi reaffirmed that India wants to build friendly relations with all its neighbours. He said that all the SAARC leaders had been invited for his swearing in ceremony.

As part of this exercise he also visited Nepal and Bhutan.

Referring to the Jammu and Kashmir floods which had left behind a trail of death and devastation, he said there was tremendous loss also in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and he had expressed India's readiness to extend help to those affected across the border.

The Prime Minister used the occasion to reach out to American investors by promising an era of political stability in India alongwith easy and effective governance.

He said a number of steps have already been taken to simplify procedures and his government has initiated labour reforms and unveiled schemes for skill development.

On India's stand on the WTO pact, the Prime Minister asserted that agreement on food security and trade facilitation will have to go hand-in-hand.