India, Russia agree to combat forms of terrorism

New Delhi, Oct 26: Expressing serious concern at the new dimensions that terrorism could assume, India and Russia have agreed to step up cooperation to counter the threat of spread of terror into cyberspace and to oil and gas installations and stressed the need for further improving the legal framework for fighting the scourge.

At the fourth meeting of the India-Russia Joint Working Group (JWG) on Combating International Terrorism, held here, the two countries also stressed the need for early entry into force of the International Convention on Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT).

The Indian delegation at the meeting was led by Mr K. C. Singh, Additional Secretary (International Organisations) and Counter-Terrorism Coordinator in the Ministry of External Affairs, while the Russian side was headed by Mr Anatoly Safonov, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cooperation in the Fight against Terrorism and Transnational Crime.

An External Affairs Ministry spokesman said here today that the two sides shared concern on cross-border terrorism and emphasised the importance of actions by all States to deny safe heaven to terrorists.

''They stressed the necessity to take more efficient measures on preventing the propagation of terrorism, including in the Cyberspace,'' the spokesman said, adding that the importance of broader dialogue among cultures and civilisations to counter divisiveness, on which terrorists thrive, was underlined.

The two sides agreed to counter the emerging threat to oil and gas installations from terrorists by exchanging experiences and underscored that energy security was a vital component of national and international counter-terrorism strategies.

They stressed the need to further improve the legal framework for the fight against terrorism and urged the early finalisation of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the UN.

They also agreed to enhance cooperation in the international fora, especially in suppressing WMDs. In this regard they noted that early entry into force of the International Convention on Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT) would facilitate this objective.

Issues of regional anti-terrorist cooperation were reviewed. It was noted that India-Russia partnership within the SCO and ASEAN Regional Forum must be enhanced, including in eliminating new threats and challenges in Central, South and South-East Asia.

They also called for unconditional implementation of the UNSC Resolution 1624 on fighting incitement to terrorism.

Reiterating that cooperation in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestation constituted an important part of strategic partnership between them, the two sides expressed concern on the increase in the spread of narcotics in the region and agreed that this directly threatened the security of both countries.

They stressed the need to consolidate bilateral mechanisms for sharing information in curbing drug-trafficking and agreed to strengthen bilateral interaction to curb the financing of terrorism.

UNI