The European Union and India have strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and emphasised the need for strengthening international cooperation in dealing with counter-terrorism challenges, stated the Ministry of External Affairs in a press release.
The EU and India focused on this issue at the 14th Counter-Terrorism Dialogue in New Delhi on Tuesday, which aimed to bolster cooperation within the EU-India Strategic Partnership.
"The dialogue was an opportunity to continue and enhance cooperation on this important element of the EU-India Strategic Partnership," the release added.
In this context, they agreed that cooperation in multilateral fora such as the United Nations and the Global Counter-terrorism Forum (GCTF) remained crucial.
The meeting allowed for an in-depth discussion on regional threat assessments, key Counterterrorism policy developments, including state-sponsored and cross-border terrorism, countering terrorism financing, preventing online radicalisation, and exchanging information on the impact of new and disruptive technologies, including their consequences for the threat and their use in countering terrorism.
According to the MEA, the EU and India have discussed ways to deepen relations between Indian and European law enforcement authorities. They welcomed signing the working arrangement between Europol and the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
They emphasised the importance of strengthening counter-terrorism coopfindiaeration through exchanging information, capacity building, and enhancing law enforcement and judicial partnerships.
The Dialogue was co-chaired by Joanneke Balfoort, Director for Security and Defence Policy in the European External Action Service and Ambassador KD Dewal, Joint Secretary for Counter-Terrorism in the Ministry of External Affairs of India. The EU's Belgian Presidency chair of the COTER Working Group, Nicolas Nihon, also participated in the Dialogue.
The EU and India agreed to hold the next round of JWG on CT in Brussels.
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