PM proposes plan against fugitives

and economic clout China in the region.

While the US and Japan have been historical allies after the second world war, Russia and China have forged a new partnership with each other to challenge what they see as the dominance of the US globally. India’s ties with both the US and Japan have strengthened enormously under the Modi Government.

At the same time, India has taken care to strengthen defence cooperation with time-tested friend Russia and repair ties with China significantly after the Doklam military face-off last year.

On the RIC meeting, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters in Buenos Aires, “It was a very warm meeting, it was a very positive meeting .... The Prime Minister thanked President Putin for initiating this effort and all three leaders felt that given our respective roles as emerging economies and emerging markets, given our respective roles and influence in the world in terms of maintaining peace and stability in the region that it was perhaps important that the three countries should cooperate and coordinate of At a time when India is seeking extradition of alleged economic offenders like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi who have fled abroad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested a ninepoint agenda on Saturday before world leaders of the G-20 countries at Argentina’s Capital Buenos Aires for “action against fugitive economic offences and asset recovery”.

Mooting a “strong and active cooperation across G-20 countries to deal comprehensively and efficiently with the menace of fugitive economic offenders”, the action-plan included “cooperation in the legal processes such as effective freezing of the proceeds of crime and early return of the off-enders, and a joint

in various areas in order to contribute to eff-ort by G-20 countries to form a mechanism that denies entry and safe havens to all fugitive economic offenders”.

It also envisaged a major role for global inter-governmental body Financial Action Task Force which it said “should also develop a set of commonly agreed and standardized procedures related to identification, extradition and judicial proceedings for dealing with fugitive economic offenders to provide guidance and assistance to G-20 countries, subject to their domestic law”.

The action plan stood for “cooperation in the legal processes such as effective freezing of the proceeds of crime; early return of the offenders and efficient repatriation of the proceeds of crime (that) should be enhanced and streamlined.

global peace

and

prosperity.”