Terrorism is pandemic and affects every country: Hamid Ansari

Vice President Hamid Ansari today described terrorism as "pandemic" and said it affected every country and society. Every nation faced the problem of terrorism to a "greater or lesser" degree, Ansari told the media as he wound up a visit to Armenia and Poland.

"But some countries come up with legal technicalities in defining terrorism as an excuse to try to avoid committing themselves (to fighting terrorism)," he said aboard Air India One Special Aircraft on his way back to India.

Replying to a question on adopting the India-led Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), he referred to the time when he was the permanent representative of India to UN, and India had introduced a proposal on CCIT.

It was struck down because there were differences on the definition of a terrorist, he said. "Those who do not want this to make progress come up with legal technicalities," he said. "It is an excuse on part of some countries to try to avoid committing themselves," he added. Speaking about the two-nation visit, the vice president said it had been "productive". "Armenia and Poland are friendly countries and we were able to regenerate interest in mutual cooperation," he said.

To a question on whether India was exploring the potential of working with Armenian innovative projects, the vice president said, "We need to see where and what the innovation is and where it will fit into our requirements." Armenia has been making a mark in areas such as renewable energy and development of vaccines and drugs.

On Poland, Ansari said Warsaw had "done its own homework" in identifying India's rising profile and becoming its major trading partner. Poland, he pointed out, had the largest economy in Central Europe. "With the Polish president and prime minister, we were able to identify some specific areas where cooperation between these two countries is either starting or can start very soon," he said. The two countries focused on three particular areas of interest: clean coal mining technology, agricultural products and techniques and defence cooperation, he said.

The vice president said he had suggested that Poland join the Make in India programme. Instead of being a seller, it could become an India-based seller, which would give it additional advantages. The Polish side reacted "very positively" to the suggestion, he said, adding that there would be "substantial progress" in the coming day when the Polish President visited India. Poland had identified some markets in Asia as priority markets, and India was one of them, he said. Reacting to a question on India's image abroad, the vice president said multiple images are a fact of life.

In this context, he referred to India's Mars mission and launch of satellites for other countries. "A common man looks at our strengths in Information Technology. Indian IT professionals are present all over the world...We have to take note what ISRO is doing, what IT is doing and what Indian scientific research is doing," he said. Ansari added that India, on the other hand, had to also deal with poverty and inequality.

"But despite all this, we have been able to, for seven decades, run a democratic system on a monumental scale," he added. Ansari, who reached Yerevan, the Armenian capital, on April 24, met the top leadership of the country, including the president and the prime minister. Three agreements were signed in cultural cooperation, youth affairs and the peaceful use of space. In Warsaw, Poland communicated to India that it supported India's permanent membership at the expanded UN Security Council.

Ansari met the Indian community in Poland and encouraged them to bring more business and investments into India. An MoU was signed in the field of agriculture and he inaugurated a new embassy complex in Warsaw.