India, EU agree to take political dialogue on combating terror forward

BRUSSELS - India and the European Union (EU) on Friday issued a Joint Declaration on International Terrorism, in which leaders of both sides agreed to take the political dialogue on this issue forward.

According to the declaration, the two sides will continue to discuss counter terrorism cooperation within their security dialogue parameters, and encourage all countries to deny safe haven to terrorists and to dismantle terror infrastructure on the territories under their control.

It was also agreed to boost law enforcement and police cooperation by identifying, including through seminars, areas of cooperation with respect to the designated agencies, according to their respective competencies.

The declaration said efforts to prevent access by terrorists to financial and other resources would continue, and steps would be taken to enhance efforts for accessing and sharing strategic information, so as to better disrupt and prevent terrorist activity.

Both sides also agreed to intensify efforts to render the widest possible measure of mutual legal assistance and to expedite processing of extradition requests and to explore the possibility of an EU - India Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement and an EU - India Agreement on Extradition.

India and EU leaders agreed to have closer cooperation on research, technology and cyber security.

In the areas of transport, aviation and border security, both sides said that they would work together, including in the ICAO, to improve international security standards for passengers, cargo and mail, including in transit.

It was also agreed that both would coordinate efforts against terrorists and terrorist groups so as to deny them safe haven and freedom of travel in accordance with international law, and encourage more efficient controls on issuance of identity and travel documents to prevent movement of terrorist and terrorist groups across national borders.

India and the EU will also share experiences and best practices on managing the consequences of a terrorist attack.

It was agreed that both would increase cooperation in multilateral fora like the UN, and intensify efforts to bring about a rapid adoption of CCIT; build on the opportunities of coordination provided by the India’s membership of Financial Action Task Force of EU Member States, and India, by intensifying efforts to prevent access by terrorists to financial and other resources and by sharing best practices on financial controls.

Both reaffirmed their commitment to implement the 2006 UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy as a unique instrument to enhance national, regional and global efforts to counter terrorism; encourage global ratification and effective implementation of all relevant conventions on counter terrorism; promote initiatives, under the auspices of UN, inter alia, on Alliance of Civilization initiative, to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding among civilizations.

The EU and India agreed that an effective and comprehensive approach to diminish the long-term threat of violent extremism is an important component of our efforts to combat terrorism. By Smita Prakash (ANI)