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India to focus on economic cooperation at NAM
February 21, 2003 16:55 IST
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee leaves for Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to participate in the Non Aligned Summit where India would focus on multilateral economic issues and cooperation among the developing countries, besides highlighting the need to counter
international terrorism.
India is also preparing to counter any attempt by Pakistan to toss "red herrings" to justify terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir at the two-day summit beginning February 24.
The 116-member group meets in the Malaysian capital in the shadow of the threat of war looming on Iraq, which it will seek to avoid.
Though the theme of the summit is "revitalisation" of NAM, topping the agenda of the summit would also be international terrorism and proliferation of weapons by North Korea and some other countries.
A hectic schedule awaits Vajpayee in Kuala Lumpur. During his stay there, he is also expected to have wide-ranging talks with over a dozen NAM leaders, including Malaysian Premier Mahathir Mohammad, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Nepalese Premier Lokendra Bahadur Jung.
India has ruled out any meeting between Vajpayee and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, who would be attending the summit.
On the issue of terrorism, India is expected to emphasise that NAM must have an updated view on international terrorism, which is in conformity with the latest developments on the world scene.
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