New Delhi: India and the US discussed steps to disrupt the ability of terrorists to travel internationally and called on all countries to take immediate and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under their control is used for terrorist attacks. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the two sides also exchanged views on threats posed by UN-designated terrorist entities and emphasised the need for concerted action against terror groups such as Al-Qaida, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Al Badr.
The MEA issued a statement following the 19th meeting of the India-US Counter Terrorism Joint Working Group and the fifth session of the India-US Designations Dialogue which took place on December 12 and 13 in Delhi. "Both sides strongly condemned the use of terrorist proxies, cross-border terrorism and all forms of international terrorism. They called for the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks to be brought to justice," it said, in an oblique message to Pakistan.
The sides reaffirmed their deep strategic partnership for advancing security and prosperity for the two countries and reiterated that terrorism remains a serious threat to international peace and security. The MEA said India and the US also called on all countries "to take immediate, sustained, and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under their control is used for terrorist attacks."
"They also shared information about their priorities and procedures for pursuing designations against terrorist groups and individuals," it said. The MEA said both sides discussed steps to disrupt the ability of terrorists to travel internationally, including through information sharing.
"Participants also deliberated pressing counter-terrorism challenges, including countering terrorist financing, preventing and countering radicalisation, use of the Internet for terrorist purposes, narco-trafficking and its linkages to terrorism and use of new and emerging technologies such as Unmanned Aerial Systems, Virtual Assets, and the Dark Web for terrorist purposes," it said.
The two sides discussed mutual legal and extradition assistance, law enforcement training, and capacity-building cooperation. The MEA said the US appreciated the leadership of India in global efforts to counter terrorism and the recent initiative of hosting a special meeting of the UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee.
"The United States welcomed the Delhi Declaration which deliberated upon the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes," it said. The two sides also discussed counter-terrorism cooperation at multilateral fora such as the UN, GCTF (Global Counterterrorism Forum), FATF (Financial Action Task Force) and Quad. (PTI)
