Almaty (Kazakhstan): Denouncing terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, 17 Asian countries, including India, today (Oct 22, 2004) emphasised that the fight against the menace should be "comprehensive" and not "selective."

The 17-member ministerial meeting of Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), attended by External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh among others, adopted a catalogue which prescribes cooperation among the member states in curbing terrorism and preventing separatist activities.

The catalogue on CBMs (Confidence Building Measures) included cooperation in military-political dimension, fight against new challenges and threats, and in the area of economic, environmental and human dimension.

It asked the member states to exchange information concerning fight against terrorist, separatist, extremist activities and organised criminal groups and when necessary, develop mechanism to combat their activities.

The meeting emphasised the centrality of the UN in promotion of international peace, favoured "independence and sovereignty" of Iraq, political and economic reconstruction in Afghanistan and expressed concern over situation in the Middle East.

The meeting adopted a declaration saying, "We strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, violent manifestations of separatism and extremism and agree to enhance our efforts at bilateral and multilateral levels in fighting these common threats."