India & the Maldives call for strengthening international cooperation to counter terrorism
India and Maldives held the first meeting of the Joint Working Group on counter-terrorism. The two nations strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms.
- India News
- 2 min read
India and the Maldives on April 8 held the first meeting of the Joint Working Group on counter-terrorism. Both sides emphasized the need for strengthening international cooperation to fight terrorism comprehensively. The two nations strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms including cross-border terrorism.
India-Maldives joint working group meets
In the meeting, the Indian side was led by Secretary(West), Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Vikas Swarup and the Maldivian side was led by Foreign Secretary Mr. Abdul Ghafoor Mohammad. According to Ministry of External Affairs, both sides reviewed threats posed by the terrorist outfits that are under UN sanctions and they emphasized action against terrorist networks. The two nations emphasized the need for all the countries to take "immediate, sustained, verifiable and irreversible" action to ensure that no territory under their control are used for terrorist attacks on others.
Honoured to co-chair the first ever India-Maldives Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism with HE @aghafoormohamed, Foreign Secretary of Maldives, in New Delhi today, giving practical shape to the vision of Prime Minister Modi and President Solih. pic.twitter.com/8V3DvEZGeS
— Vikas Swarup (@VikasSwarup) April 8, 2021
The two sides also discussed various areas of cooperation on counter-terrorism that includes counter-radicalization, violent extremism and use of the internet for terrorism. According to MEA, the two nations exchanged views on enhancing bilateral cooperation against narcotics and drug trafficking. They also discussed the challenges they are facing due to the pandemic in fighting terrorism.
Both sides agreed to strengthen bilateral CT cooperation, including assistance & capacity building for the security, law enforcement and other agencies of Maldives and exchange of experience & best practices for de-radicalisation. and preventing & countering of violent extremism. pic.twitter.com/uVMZopkFkE
— Vikas Swarup (@VikasSwarup) April 8, 2021
They also pointed out the joint statement issued during the State Visit of Prime Minister Modi to the Maldives in June 2019. The two sides recognized the critical threats that terrorism, violent extremism and radicalisation pose to peace and security in the region. India appreciated the clear stance taken by the Government of President Solih to counter such threats and steps taken by the Maldives in this regard.
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India and Maldives agreed to strengthen cooperation that includes assistance and capacity building for the security and law enforcement agencies. They also talked about collaborating in the areas of counter-terrorism, preventing and countering of violent extremism and deradicalization. The Maldivian delegation during its stay in New Delhi will visit the training facilities of the National Security Guard and the Bureau of Police Research and Development.