India, UK agree to deepen counter-terror cooperation

The Indian delegation at the talks was headed by KD Dewal, joint secretary for counter-terrorism in the MEA.

India and the UK strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms including the cross-border movement of terrorists, and emphasised the need for strengthening international cooperation to combat the menace in a comprehensive manner.

The challenge of terrorism and ways to deal with it figured prominently at the 16th meeting of the India-UK joint working group on counter-terrorism that took place in Delhi on Tuesday. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said 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. It said India and the UK agreed to further deepen cooperation to combat terrorism.

"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 in a comprehensive and sustained manner, in accordance with the UN charter and international law," the MEA said. It said 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.

"Both countries exchanged perspectives across a range of CT (counter-terrorism) challenges: countering radicalisation and violent extremism; combating the financing of terrorism; preventing exploitation of new and emerging technologies for terrorism; law enforcement and judicial cooperation; information sharing; aviation and maritime security," the MEA said in a statement.  "It was agreed to further strengthen and deepen bilateral cooperation to meet these shared challenges," it said.

The Indian delegation at the talks was headed by KD Dewal, joint secretary for counter-terrorism in the MEA. Chris Felton, the head of the counter-terrorism network for Asia and Oceania of the UK, led the British delegation.