Harris in first meet with Modi brings up Pak’s role in terrorism, asks to take action

NEW YORK: Vice President Kamala Harris has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that she was asking Pakistan to act on terrorism and ensure that terror groups do not target New Delhi or Washington, according to India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.

He said that when the issues of terrorism came up during their meeting on Thursday, "the Vice President suo moto referred to Pakistan's role in that regard. She said that they were terror groups that were working there. She asked Pakistan to take action so that these groups do not impact on US security and that of India".

Shringla asserted that "she agreed with the Prime Minister's briefing on the fact of cross border terrorism, and the fact that India had been a victim of terrorism for several decades now, and on the need to rein in and closely monitor Pakistan's support for such terrorism".

Briefing reporters in Washington after the meeting between the two leaders, he said that the encounter, the first in-person meeting, "reflected warmth and cordiality".

The discussions were substantive and also covered the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, cooperation in the technology sector, cybersecurity and space, he said.
A White House readout of the meeting said that Modi and Harris "supported expanding bilateral security cooperation in the face of modern threats, including terrorism and cybercrime".

Harris, who is the chair of the National Space Council, "encouraged expanded US-India space cooperation, and she and Prime Minister Modi explored ways to build on existing, robust bilateral collaboration on space", the readout added.