New Delhi: In a message to Pakistan, India and Australia on Tuesday strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and emphasized the need for strengthening international cooperation to combat terrorism in a comprehensive and sustained manner. Both sides held the 14th meeting of the India-Australia Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism here in New Delhi on Tuesday.
KD Dewal, Joint Secretary for Counter-Terrorism at the Ministry of External Affairs, and Richard Feakes, Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, led the respective delegations of experts to discuss the global counter-terrorism challenges and the ongoing counter-terrorism cooperation between the two countries.
They also condemned the use of terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism. The two sides exchanged views on the domestic, regional and global terrorism threat assessment.
India and Australia discussed counter-terrorism challenges related to the use of new and emerging technologies by terrorists, misuse of the internet for terrorist purposes, radicalisation and terror financing, and the nexus between organised crime and terrorism, among other issues.
Both sides also discussed cooperation in regional, global and multilateral fora such as UN, GCTF, FATF, ARF, IORA and with QUAD partners to combat global terrorism. The ongoing cooperation in counter-terrorism is an important element of the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The two sides agreed to hold the 15th Meeting of JWG on Counter Terrorism in Canberra on a mutually convenient date.
India and Australia have a strong and growing relationship across various sectors. Their ties are characterised by cooperation in trade, investment, defence and education. Both countries have a robust trade partnership, with Australia being a significant supplier of minerals and energy resources to India, while India exports a range of goods, including pharmaceuticals and textiles.
In terms of defence, they engage in joint exercises and strategic dialogues, and their bilateral security cooperation has strengthened in recent years. Educational exchange is another key aspect, with many Indian students studying in Australia and various academic collaborations between institutions in both countries.
Culturally, there's a vibrant Indian diaspora in Australia, contributing to a deeper people-to-people connection. Additionally, both nations work together on global issues such as climate change and regional security in forums like the Quad grouping, which also includes the United States and Japan.
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