Combating global terrorism :

'Resolute political will needed'

A resolute political will is important to combat terrorism on a global scale, External Affairs Minister Prof GL Peiris said. Speaking as chief guest at the official banquet at the Galle Dialogue in Galle on Monday, Prof Peiris identified this as an absolutely necessary condition to maintaining security of sea lanes and integrity of transnational commerce. "One of the central areas of responsibility imputable to modern navies has to do with piracy," the Minister said.

He referred to the relative security of sea lanes in the Indian Ocean area, in contrast with the vexed problems arising in other geographical regions, such as, the Gulf of Aden and broad swathes of the Arabian Sea.

"There is, however, an urgent need to strengthen mechanisms for dealing with piracy," the minister said.