Phuket (Thailand), July 23 : External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna on Thursday said Indonesia had placed the issue of terrorism upfront at the retreat of 27 foreign ministers of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

“Indonesia opened this subject because they were the latest victims of terror when terrorists struck at Jakarta, just a few days back. Indonesia made a fervent appeal to all of us that terrorism will have to be fought both on a collective basis as well as on country-specific basis.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the 16th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Krishna said all members had expressed their support for curbing terrorism.

Krishna said that terrorists were now becoming more sophisticated, so there is a need to improve measures to combat terrorism.

He said India had pledged to provide all support to fight terrorism.

“India being another victim of terror spontaneously joined Indonesia in making a broad appeal to our colleagues that terror knows no boundaries, and terror has become more sophisticated and they have a very effective network amongst themselves and if an effective response for this kind of terror is to be initiated there has to be greater cooperation amongst ourselves,” Krishna told ANI here.

Asia’s top security gathering concluded at this Thai resort on Thursday.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were among the participants. (ANI)