NEW DELHI: India and Israel on Tuesday reaffirmed their policy of “zero tolerance” towards terrorism as they vowed to strengthen bilateral cooperation to combat the menace including through information sharing.
The two sides deliberated extensively on effectively combating the challenge of terrorism at a meeting of their joint working group on counter-terrorism held in New Delhi.
The fresh resolve to expand cooperation to deal with terrorism came a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to Israel on a two-day visit.
In the meeting, India and Israel emphasised that confronting terrorism requires concerted action in a “sustained and comprehensive manner”.
“Against this backdrop, the two sides renewed their commitment to strengthening multilateral cooperation in the field of countering terrorism including in the UN, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and other multilateral platforms,” an India-Israel joint statement said.
It said the two sides reiterated their commitment to cooperate in combating terrorism and terrorist organisations, as well as their proxies, supporters, sponsors, financiers and backers.
India and Israel also discussed further strengthening law enforcement and judicial cooperation, including through information sharing and cooperation on mutual legal assistance requests.
The meeting underscored the importance of bilateral cooperation in countering terrorism, reflecting the “spirit and breadth” of the India-Israel strategic partnership, the statement noted.
“Both sides unequivocally and strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism and reaffirmed the principle of zero tolerance towards terrorism,” it said.
They strongly condemned the “brutal” terror attacks in both countries including heinous October 7, 2023 terror attack in Israel, the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam last year and other terror acts that have emphasised the urgent need to hold the perpetrators of these heinous acts accountable, it said.
India and Israel exchanged views on threats emanating from terrorism and discussed the challenges posed by terrorist groups globally and in their respective regions, the joint statement said.
It said the two sides reviewed a wide range of traditional and emerging threats and challenges such as terrorist recruitment, abuse of technology for terrorist purposes, and financing of terrorism.
“They expressed concern over the increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones, and AI for terrorist purposes. Both sides discussed ways to strengthen cooperation against (these) challenges, including through training, cybersecurity, exchange of best practices, and information sharing,” according to the statement.
The two sides also discussed further strengthening law enforcement and judicial cooperation, including through information sharing and cooperation on mutual legal assistance requests. (PTI)