Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it was essential to ensure that Afghanistan’s territory is not used for terrorist activities.

“We also need to ensure that no country tries to take advantage of delicate situation in Afghanistan and use it for its own selfish interests,” Modi said. “At this time, the people of Afghanistan, women and children, the minorities there, need help, and we must fulfill our responsibility.”

This is the first time that Modi made a direct reference to the situation in Afghanistan at a global platform since the Taliban took over the country last month.

“Countries that are thinking regressively and using terrorism as a political tool, need to understand that it will prove to be a huge danger for them as well,” the prime minister said in a veiled dig at Pakistan .

He added that world was facing the danger of growing extremism and regressive thinking.

“In such a situation, the entire world must make science-based, rational and progressive thinking the basis for development,” Modi said.

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The prime minister also urged vaccine manufacturers to produce their shots against the coronavirus disease in India.

“Come, make vaccine in India,” Modi said, pointing out that India has decided to resume exporting vaccines to other countries.

Earlier this week, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had announced that India will resume exporting surplus coronavirus vaccines from October. India had halted export of Covid-19 vaccines in April after the second wave of the pandemic started to peak.

Highlighting upon various initiatives undertaken by the central government, Modi said that India’s priority was to usher in development that is “inclusive and pervasive”.

He stressed on India’s global significance by saying: “When India grows, [the] world grows, when India reforms, [the] world transforms.”

Modi, who is on a five-day visit to the US, has held bilateral meetings with US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He also held talks with Australian and Japanese prime ministers Scott Morrison and Yoshihide Suga.

On Friday, he attended the first in-person summit of the Quad grouping too. Quad is an alliance of India, Australia, Japan and the US.