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India and Italy reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in multilateral fora against terrorism and organised crime during the 5th meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
The meeting that took place on January 16 and 17 in Rome was co-chaired by Joint Secretary for Counter Terrorism in MEA KD Dewal and Senior Deputy Director for Political Affairs and Director for Security of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alessandro Azzoni. According to the MEA, the two nations committed to cooperation in tackling terrorism and organised crime in multilateral fora, including the United Nations, the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). "The dialogue between the two strategic partner countries reaffirmed commitment to strengthen cooperation in the multilateral fora, including in the UN, GCTF and FATF. The two sides also discussed ways and means to advance the ongoing negotiations on various bilateral agreements," the MEA statement read. During the meeting, the two sides discussed a range of issues related to domestic, regional, and international terrorist threats and exchanged views on cooperation in counterterrorism and transnational organised crime. Both sides further emphasised the importance of enhancing cooperation to address the misuse of technology for terrorist purposes and also highlighted the need for effective prosecution of those responsible for terrorist activities. "The two sides discussed emerging domestic, regional and international terrorist threats and exchanged views on a wide range of areas of cooperation in counterterrorism and transnational organised crime," the MEA stated. "Recognising the need for enhancing cooperation for effectively countering the misuse of technology for terrorist purposes, the two sides shared experience in preventing and mitigating the menace. They also stressed the importance of an effective prosecution of those responsible for terrorist acts," it further added. The Indian delegation also visited the Inter-agency Law Enforcement Academy in Caserta, Italy, where they met with officials to discuss capacity-building measures between the Academy and its counterpart organisation in India. Both sides also agreed to hold the next meeting of the Joint Working Group in Delhi at a mutually convenient time. (ANI)
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