India and Australia held the 11th Meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism at Canberra . The Indian delegation was led by Mr. Mahaveer Singhvi, Joint Secretary (Counter Terrorism), Ministry of External Affairs, while the Australian delegation was led by Mr. Paul Foley, Australia’s Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism.
The bilateral Joint Working Group deliberated upon the terrorist threats worldwide and in their respective regions including the problem of cross-border terrorism. Both sides welcomed the listing of Masood Azhar, leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammad, as a Global Terrorist by the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee. India thanked Australia for co-sponsoring the listing proposal of Masood Azhar along with US, UK, France and other friendly countries.
They also discussed contemporary counter terrorism challenges such as financing of terrorism, the use of the internet for terror purposes, radicalization and Foreign Terrorist Fighters.
The two sides agreed to further deepen counter-terrorism cooperation through mutual capacity building efforts, mutual legal assistance, regular exchange of information, sharing of best practices on countering extremism and radicalization. Cooperation in multilateral fora was also discussed.
During the visit, Joint Secretary Sh. Mahaveer Singhvi also called on Mr. Tony Sheehan, Deputy Secretary (International Security), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia.
The next meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism shall be held in India at a mutually convenient date.
