India, Australia emphasise international cooperation to combat terrorism

New Delhi [India], August 13 (ANI): India and Australia have strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and emphasised the need for strengthening international cooperation to combat terrorism in a comprehensive and sustained manner, an MEA release said.

They also condemned the use of terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism, the MEA release said.

This was discussed at the 14th meeting of the India-Australia Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism in Delhi on August 12.

KD Dewal, Joint Secretary for Counter-Terrorism at the Ministry of External Affairs of India, and Richard Feakes, Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, led the respective delegations of experts to discuss the global counter-terrorism challenges and the ongoing counter-terrorism cooperation between the two countries, as per the Ministry of External Affairs.

During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on the domestic, regional and global terrorism threat assessment. They discussed counter-terrorism challenges related to the use of new and emerging technologies by terrorists, misuse of internet for terrorist purposes, radicalisation and terror financing, and the nexus between organised crime and terrorism, among other issues.

Both sides also discussed cooperation in regional, global and multilateral fora such as UN, GCTF, FATF, ARF, IORA and with QUAD partners to combat global terrorism.

The ongoing co-operation in counter-terrorism is an important element of the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The two sides agreed to hold the 15th Meeting of JWG on counterterrorism in Canberra on a mutually convenient date, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

Earlier today, the sixth India-Maritime Security Dialogue was held in Canberra, an MEA release said.

In the meeting, the two sides conferred on ways to sustain a safe and secure maritime environment conducive to inclusive growth and global well-being, MEA said.