Sri Lanka wholly with BIMSTEC against terrorism and organized crime - President Rajapaksa [November 13 2008]

"Sri Lanka wholeheartedly supports the BIMSTEC Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Organized Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking as an important and vital milestone in our efforts on counter terrorism," said President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the 2nd Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), at New Delhi today(Nov 13).

"Terrorist groups are able to sustain themselves by illegal fundraising, narcotics and people trafficking, money laundering using international networks, and arms and ammunition smuggling including through the sea routes in the Bay of Bengal. I urge you to consider setting up a mechanism to effectively police the seas of the Bay of Bengal, to deny these terrorists mobility and connectivity.