India-US discuss mechanisms on designations of terrorists, groups

The dialogue was held to discuss increasing bilateral cooperation on terrorism-related designations, the ministry said in a statement.

By PTI

Updated: Wednesday, December 20, 2017, 0:19 [IST]

New Delhi, Dec 19: India and the US on Tuesday concluded their first dialogue on designations of terrorist groups and individuals through domestic and international mechanisms. The establishment of the 'India-US designations dialogue' mechanism reflected shared Indian and American commitments to strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats, the ministry of external affairs said at the end of the two-day meet.

Joint Secretary in-charge of Americas division in the MEA Munu Mahawar and senior officials from other ministries, including the home ministry, participated in the meet. From the US side, officials from the homeland security were present. The dialogue was held to discuss increasing bilateral cooperation on terrorism-related designations, the ministry said in a statement.

"The Indian and US delegations exchanged information on procedures for pursuing designations against terrorist groups and individuals, through domestic and international mechanisms. They also discussed best practices for effective implementation of the designations," it said.

The statement was also released by the US. The dialogue comes amidst China blocking the designation of Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) chief and Pathankot attack mastermind Masood Azhar as a terrorist by the UN.

In June, a joint statement issued after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump had said the two sides were committed to strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats from groups including Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, D-Company, and their affiliates. India had also appreciated the US designation of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen leader Syed Salahuddin as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist as evidence of the commitment of the US to end terror in all its forms. The US will host the second round of the dialogue in 2018.

PTI