India, Maldives discuss preventing use of internet for terrorism

India and Maldives co-chaired the second Joint Working Group meeting on Counter-Terrorism, Countering Violent Extremism and De-radicalisation on Monday to combat terrorism and prevent the exploitation of the internet and cyberspace for terrorism and violent extremism.

Ministry of External Affairs (West) Sanjay Verma represented New Delhi and participated at the event along with Maldives Foreign Secretary MV Ahmed Latheef. “Co-chaired 2nd #India-#Maldives JWG on Counter-Terrorism, Countering Violent Extremism and De-radicalisation at @MoFAmvtoday with H.E. @ForeignSecMVAhmed Latheef. Capacity building, information sharing and cooperation on global forums is the path ahead. @MEAIndia @HCIMaldives,” the MEA official said in a tweet.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the meeting was held in a cordial and constructive atmosphere that symbolises the time-tested and good neighbourly ties between Maldives and India, and the energy, ambition and scale acquired by our bilateral relations under the leadership of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Maldives and India strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations including cross-border terrorism.

Emphasising the need for strengthening international cooperation to combat terrorism in a comprehensive and sustained manner both countries reaffirmed counter-terrorism cooperation as an important aspect of maintaining security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Both sides also reviewed threats posed by terrorist entities that are under UN sanctions and emphasised the need for concerted action against all terrorist networks.

They underlined the urgent need for all countries to take immediate, sustained, verifiable, and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under their control is used for terrorist attacks on others and to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks.

Further, the two sides exchanged views on enhancing bilateral cooperation against organised crime and narcotics, repatriation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of returnees, the Ministry stated.

Both sides pledged to strengthen cooperation that will include further assistance and capacity building for the security and law enforcement agencies and other relevant agencies of the Maldives as well as collaboration and the exchange of best practices in the areas of counter-terrorism, preventing and countering violent extremism including strategic communication, and de-radicalisation.

The two sides also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation and enhancing dialogues in multilateral fora through United Nations and at other global and regional platforms such as the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC).

The Indian delegation will also visit the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) during their stay in Male, the Ministry added.