Saudi Arabia and India address terrorism in a rare meeting

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

The first state visit to Saudi Arabia by an Indian leader in almost 30 years saw Manmohan Singh discuss terrorism, peace with Pakistan, and trade with the Saudi King Abdullah.

Prime Minister Singh said of peace talks with Pakistan that India "can walk the extra mile to open a new chapter in relations between our two countries."

His statement is the latest in measured steps toward improving relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors after India restarted formal talks – suspended since the November 2008 Mumbai (Bombay) attacks – with Pakistan just last week.

“We seek cooperative relations with Pakistan. Our objective is a permanent peace because we recognize that we are bound together by a shared future. If there is cooperation between India and Pakistan, vast opportunities will open up for trade, travel, and development that will create prosperity in both countries and in South Asia as a whole,” Singh said Monday to the Saudi Consultative Council in Riyadh, according to the Indian Express.

Singh tempered his offer by adding that Pakistan must "act decisively against terrorism" and that nowhere is the challenge of terrorism now greater than in Afghanistan, the Times of India reports.

Recent terrorist attacks have highlighted India's role in Afghanistan. About half of the victims of a suicide attack on Friday in Kabul that killed 16, for which the Taliban claimed credit, were Indian. It was the third attack on Indian interests in Kabul since 2008, The Christian Science Monitor reported.

1 | 2

Next