ANTALYA: Joining a clarion call for action against terror, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today sought a united global effort to combat terrorism while US President Barack Obama vowed to “redouble” efforts to wipe out ISIS.
Obama also said that the US will stand by France in hunting down the Paris attackers while several world leaders also made a strong call for attending the upcoming Climate Summit in the French capital, which faced its deadliest ever terror attack on Friday night wherein at least 129 were killed and hundreds other were injured.
The leaders from the world’s 20 top economies have congregated in this Turkish coastal resort town for the two-day G20 Summit beginning today.
Strongly condemning the Paris attacks, which have been owned by ISIS, Modi made a case for united global effort to combat the menace of terrorism.
“We stand united in strongly condemning the dreadful acts of terrorism in Paris… The entire humanity must stand together as one against terrorism. The need for a united global effort to combat terrorism has never been more urgent,” he said at the meeting of the BRICS leaders on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
Combating terrorism must also be a priority for BRICS nations, Modi said.
“We express deepest sympathy and support to Russia for the loss of life in Sinai. Ankara and Beirut are also reminders of terror’s growing spread and impact,” he added.
After a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Obama said the two leaders agreed to show solidarity with France in tracking down the perpetrators of the Paris assaults and to boost the campaign to “eliminate” the Islamic State group.
As the Summit got underway, a suspected ISIS jihadist blew himself up in south-eastern Turkey near the Syrian border during a police raid. Five police officers were injured.
Earlier on Saturday, four suspected IS militants were shot dead by the army when they approached an army checkpoint in Gaziantep. Besides, police arrested seven suspected IS members in Turkish capital Ankara, local media reports said.
Turkey has scaled up its hunt for ISIS members ever since a series of deadly attacks including bombings took place in Ankara on October 10, killing 107 people.
Welcoming the world leaders for the G20 Summit, Erdogan asked them to send “very strong, tough” message against terror.
“I believe that our stance against international terrorism will find its expression in a very strong, tough message at the G20 summit,” Erdogan said after meeting Obama ahead of the formal opening of the Summit.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the world will be able to deal with the terrorist threat only if all the international community unites its efforts.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “Those who organised, who perpetrated the attacks are the very same people who the refugees are fleeing and not the opposite. And so there is no need for an overall review of the European policy on refugees.”
The world leaders are expected to issue a rare separate statement to denounce the Paris attacks and terrorism.
Erdogan said the summit agenda was now “very different” after the Paris attacks.
“We need to lead an international fight within a coalition against collective acts of terrorism,” Erdogan said.
The Paris attacks have turned Antalya into a heavy- guarded town and all musical events including at the official dinner tonight have been cancelled as a mark of respect for the victims of Paris attacks.
Modi, who reached here late last night from London after his three-day visit to the UK, had earlier tweeted he would “meet world leaders and discuss global economic and security issues”.
The official economic agenda is likely to be overshadowed by a series of intense meetings the world leaders will hold on the margins of the Summit on the Syrian civil war, the refugee crisis in Europe, the Paris attacks and the growing threat of the terror group ISIS.
Juncker, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim arrived here last night.
Also to arrive yesterday were Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Prime Minister of Spain Mariano Rajoy, Korean President Park Geun-hye, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, South African President Jacob Zuma and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff also arrived yesterday.
Obama was among the last top leaders to arrive and reached here this morning.
Thousands of security personnel and high-tech surveillance systems are dotting every nook and corner of this Turkish resort town.
Around 13,000 officials and 3,000 journalists from across the world are here for the 10th G-20 Summit, being held at the Regnum Carya Hotel Convention Center in the Belek town of Antalya’s Serik district.
The town of Belek has been declared a high-security Red Zone area and a virtual no-go zone for the non-delegates.
Markets and shops around the venue have been shut and thousands of barricades and security personnel are deployed on alongside roads leading to the venue.
The Turkish military has put in place an around-the-clock air defence system to prevent any possible missile or drone attacks. (PTI)
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