Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari has made a strong pitch for an international legal regime against terrorism, saying the menace knows no boundaries and seriously threatens global peace and security. The recent incidents of terrorism in India and other countries serve as a grim reminder that the scourge of terrorism was severely affecting the civilized life, Ansari said. "It knows no boundaries and seriously threatens international peace and security," he said addressing a banquet hosted by President of the Senate of the Parliament of Czech Republic Premysl Sobotka on Monday night. The Vice President said the international community must continue and reinvigorate its collective efforts to strengthen global cooperation to eradicate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. "Swift and credible steps must be taken to eliminate terrorist safe havens. There is an urgent need to strengthen the global consensus and the legal regime against terrorism, including early adoption of the long overdue Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the United Nations," he said. Ansari said the challenge before India was to attain and sustain rapid and inclusive economic growth within the framework of parliamentary democracy and the country's management of the economy over past two years helped it to minimize the effect of the unprecedented global financial crisis on its growth momentum. "Economic growth recovered to 7.4 per cent in 2009-10 and in the current financial year 2010-11, the economy is expected to grow at 8.5 per cent. This reflects the strong fundamentals of our economy," he was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI). Maintaining that there was an ideal synergy between India's growing market and Czech technology, the Vice President said both the countries already have bilateral trade and investment in sectors as diverse as software, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, textiles and engineering goods.
