AMN
European Union and India held their 14th Counter-Terrorism Dialogue on the 7th of this month in New Delhi. The External Affairs Ministry said that the dialogue was an opportunity to continue and enhance cooperation on this important element of the EU-India Strategic Partnership. The EU and India strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and emphasised the need for strengthening international cooperation in dealing with counter-terrorism challenges. In this context, they agreed that cooperation in multilateral fora such as the United Nations and the Global Counter-terrorism Forum remained crucial.
The meeting allowed for an in-depth discussion on regional threat assessments, key Counter-Terrorism policy developments, including State-sponsored and cross-border terrorism, countering terrorism financing, preventing online radicalisation and exchanging on the impact of new and disruptive technologies.
The EU and India discussed ways to deepen relations between Indian and European law enforcement authorities. They welcomed the signing of the working arrangement between Europol and the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). They emphasised the importance of strengthening counter-terrorism cooperation through information exchange, capacity building, and strengthening law enforcement and judicial partnerships. The Dialogue was co-chaired by Director for Security and Defence Policy in the European External Action Service, Joanneke Balfoort and Joint Secretary for Counter-Terrorism in the Ministry of External Affairs, Ambassador KD Dewal.