India, Germany vow to strengthen global cooperation in combating terror

India and Germany on Wednesday vowed to strengthen international cooperation in combating terrorism in a comprehensive and sustained manner and discussed concerns over cross-border terrorism in South Asian region. The 8th meeting of India-Germany Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism was held here with the Indian delegation led by Mahaveer Singhvi, Joint Secretary for Counter Terrorism in the Ministry of External Affairs, and the German delegation headed by Ambassador Andreas Kunne, Director, United Nations and Counter Terrorism in the German Federal Foreign Office.

"Both sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed the need for strengthening international cooperation to combat the menace in a comprehensive and sustained manner," a joint statement issued after the meeting said. They exchanged assessments on threats posed by globally proscribed terrorist entities and their affiliates as well as ongoing concerns over cross-border terrorism in South Asian region, it said.

The two sides discussed the importance of disrupting terrorist networks, safe havens, infrastructure and their financing channels, and halting cross-border movement of terrorists. They exchanged views on contemporary counter terrorism challenges such as radicalization and extremism, misuse of internet for terror purposes, travel of foreign terrorist fighters, terrorist use of Unmanned Aerial Systems, etc.

The two sides agreed to further deepen counter-terrorism cooperation through regular exchange of information, mutual capacity building efforts, sharing of best practices and mutual legal assistance, the statement said. Cooperation in multilateral fora such as the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force was also discussed, it said.

It was decided that the next meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism shall be held in Germany in 2020 on a mutually convenient date. PTI ASK AD