India, UK strongly condemn terrorism; agree to strengthen bilateral counterterror cooperation

NEW DELHI, May 22 : India and the UK strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, and emphasised the need for strengthening international cooperation to combat terrorism. They also agreed to further strengthen and deepen bilateral cooperation in counter terrorism.

 

This was agreed during the 16th meeting of their Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism in New Delhi on Tuesday.

 

K.D. Dewal, Joint Secretary for Counter Terrorism in the Ministry of External Affairs, and Chris Felton, Head of Counter Terrorism Network for Asia and Oceania, United Kingdom, led the respective delegations to discuss the ongoing counter-terrorism cooperation between the two countries.

 

The two sides shared their assessment of the terrorist and extremist threats in their respective territories and regions including threats posed by globally sanctioned terrorist entities and individuals.

 

The two sides also exchanged views on the proscription of individual terrorists and entities as a tool to combat terrorism, as well as ways of working together in multilateral forums, a statement said.

 

Both countries exchanged perspectives across a range of CT challenges: countering radicalisation and violent extremism; combating financing of terrorism; preventing exploitation of new and emerging technologies for terrorism; law enforcement and judicial cooperation; information sharing; aviation and maritime security. It was agreed to further strengthen and deepen bilateral cooperation to meet these shared challenges.

 

The 17th India-UK Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism will be held in the UK at a mutually convenient date.

 

 

(UNI)