NEW YORK: The India-US joint working group on counterterrorism met in Washington DC Nov 29, to discuss bilateral cooperation in fighting the global menace of terrorism. The Indian delegation led by Ambassador K.C. Singh, Additional Secretary for International Organizations at the Ministry of External Affairs of India met over a full day with the US delegation, led by the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Ambassador Dell Dailey, who hosted the delegation.
Both sides strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and underscored it as a major threat to democracy, pluralism, international peace and security. They reiterated that there can be no justification for any act of terrorism on any grounds
It is imperative for the international community to come together to combat terrorism in a long term, sustained and comprehensive manner. India and the US called upon all states to abide by their commitments under the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2006 and called for finalization of the draft UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism expeditiously.
They discussed, inter alia, regional counterterrorism efforts, threat assessments in South Asia, Middle East and South East Asia, bioterrorism, on-going Anti-terrorism Assistance Training Program and co-operation in the field of forensic epidemiology. Other issues discussed include terrorist finance and money laundering, ideological dimensions of terrorism, information sharing and widened cooperation for preventing terrorist acts. Both sides agreed to identify measures to strengthen institutional linkages leading to closer interaction and cooperation.
The next meeting of the counter-terrorism joint working group will take place in New Delhi in 2008.
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