India, Egypt agree to strengthen joint efforts in combating terrorism
Cairo: India and Egypt held the 4th Meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism in Cairo on Wednesday. They agreed to strengthen joint efforts in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
Egypt reaffirmed its full support for India in confronting all forms of violence, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) press release. India and Egypt strongly condemned the recent "heinous terrorist attack" in Pahalgam that targeted tourists.
In a press release, the MEA stated, "India and Egypt strongly condemned the recent heinous terrorist attack in Pahalgam that targeted domestic and international tourists. Egypt reaffirmed its full support for India in confronting all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at undermining the country's security and stability."
"Both sides agreed to strengthen joint efforts in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The two sides exchanged views on terror threats in their respective countries and regions," it added.
The two delegations were led by Ambassador KD Dewal, Joint Secretary (Counter Terrorism), Ministry of External Affairs, and Ambassador Walid Al-Fiqi, Director of the Department of Counter Terrorism, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, and included representatives from various agencies of both nations.
The two nations discussed ways to strengthen areas of cooperation to counter new and emerging challenges like the use of technology for terrorist purposes and financing of terrorism, including cryptocurrencies, unmanned aerial systems and misuse of cyberspace by terrorists for spreading terrorist propaganda.
India and Egypt agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in anti-money laundering efforts, drug trafficking and organised crime. The two nations agreed to deepen cooperation in training and capacity building, cyber security, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for counter-terrorism, the exchange of best practices, and information sharing.
The two nations discussed strengthening multilateral cooperation in countering terrorism, including the United Nations and BRICS. The next meeting of the Joint Working Group shall be held in India on a mutually convenient date.
In a press release, MEA stated, "The two sides also discussed strengthening of multilateral cooperation in counter terrorism, including in the United Nations, BRICS, the Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF) and FATF."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
4 hours ago
- Observer
UN experts accuse Israel of 'extermination' in Gaza attacks
GENEVA: An independent United Nations commission said on Tuesday Israeli attacks on schools, religious and cultural sites in Gaza amount to war crimes and the crime against humanity of seeking to exterminate Palestinians. "Israel has obliterated Gaza's education system and destroyed over half of all religious and cultural sites in the Gaza Strip," the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in a report. It accused Israeli forces of committing "war crimes, including directing attacks against civilians and wilful killing, in their attacks on educational facilities that caused civilian casualties. "In killing civilians sheltering in schools and religious sites, Israeli security forces committed the crime against humanity of extermination," the report said. It noted: "While the destruction of cultural property, including educational facilities, was not in itself a genocidal act, evidence of such conduct may nevertheless infer genocidal intent to destroy a protected group." Commission chair Navi Pillay said in a statement accompanying the report: "We are seeing more and more indications that Israel is carrying out a concerted campaign to obliterate Palestinian life in Gaza." "Children in Gaza have lost their childhood," the senior South African judge said. "They are forced to worry about survival amid attacks, uncertainty, starvation and subhuman living conditions." The three-member commission said Israeli attacks "targeted religious sites that served as places of refuge, killing hundreds of people, including women and children". The commission was set up by the UN to investigate violations of humanitarian and human rights law in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. In May, UN humanitarian relief chief Tom Fletcher urged the countries of the UN Security Council to take action "to prevent genocide" in Gaza. Israel has denied committing genocide. The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs demanded that Israel lift its aid blockade on Gaza, where the UN says the entire population of more than two million people is at risk of famine. "For those killed and those whose voices are silenced: what more evidence do you need now?" Fletcher said on May 14. "Will you act — decisively — to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law?" The UN commission's report paid special attention to Gaza but also focused on Israeli attacks on civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories as a whole, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel itself. It said Israel had "done little" to prevent or prosecute Jewish settlers in the West Bank who "intentionally targeted educational facilities and students to terrorise (Palestinian) communities and force them to leave their homes". The report said Israeli authorities had intimidated and, in some cases, detained Israeli and Palestinian teachers and students who "expressed concern or solidarity with the civilian population in Gaza". The panel urged the Israeli government to stop attacking cultural, religious and education institutions, "immediately end its unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory" and cease all settlement activity. It said the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should comply fully with provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice. The court has ordered Israel "to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide against people in Gaza" and allow humanitarian aid to get through. It also urged Hamas, the Islamist militant group that runs Gaza, "to cease using civilian objects for military purposes". The commission is to present its findings to the UN Commission on Human Rights on June 17. Meanwhile, more than 300 civil servants at Britain's foreign ministry have written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy expressing concerns about Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza, the BBC reported on Tuesday. The officials warned of potential UK "complicity" in what they called "Israel's violations of international humanitarian law" during the conflict in the Palestinian territory. The letter dated May 16 questioned the continuation of some UK arms sales to the country, according to the broadcaster. — AFP
Observer
a day ago
- Observer
Türkiye slams Israel for intercepting Gaza-bound aid boat
ISTANBUL: Türkiye slammed Israel for intercepting a Gaza-bound boat carrying activists including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg early on Monday, describing it as a "heinous attack". The Madleen left Italy on June 1 to raise awareness over food shortages in Gaza, which the United Nations has described as the "hungriest place on Earth", with the entire population at risk of famine. "The intervention by Israeli forces on the 'Madleen' ship.. while sailing in international waters is a clear violation of international law," Türkiye said, calling it as a "heinous attack" by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a statement, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said Israeli troops "forcibly intercepted" the vessel in international waters at 0102 GMT as it was approaching the Gaza Strip. Türkiye's foreign ministry said there were Turkish nationals among those on board, with FFC's website indicating there were 12 people from seven countries, including Türkiye. Two of them hold Turkish passports. Gaza's Hamas rulers condemned the move in a statement that said the Madleen was being taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod. A Turkish foreign ministry source said the boat was "expected to reach land in the evening" and that its consular officials had taken "the necessary initiatives to meet them as soon as they disembark from the ship and to ensure their release". "We are also in contact with other countries whose citizens are on board. The families of our citizens are being regularly updated," the source added. The ministry earlier said Israel's "aggressive and lawless attitude will not silence the voices defending human values" and that the international community's "justified reaction to Israel's genocidal policies, which use hunger as a weapon in Gaza and prevent the delivery of humanitarian aid, will continue". The boat's interception came just over 15 years after Israeli commandos staged a botched raid on the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish ship carrying activists to Gaza, killing 10 civilians — all of them Turkish nationals. The assault sparked a years-long diplomatic crisis between Türkiye and Israel, which only restored diplomatic ties in 2022 — in a reconciliation which has since been shattered by Israel's war on Gaza's rulers. France on Monday said it would work to ensure the rapid return home of French citizens aboard a boat carrying aid bound for Gaza that was intercepted by Israeli security forces. President Emmanuel Macron has requested that the six French nationals aboard the Madleen "be allowed to return to France as soon as possible", a presidential official said, asking not to be named, while Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that Paris would work "to facilitate their swift return to France". Iran on Monday condemned Israel's interception of a Gaza-bound aid vessel carrying international activists, describing it as an act of piracy. "The assault on this flotilla — since it happened in international waters — is considered a form of piracy under international law," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a press briefing in Tehran. On Saturday, Israeli forces had killed at least 36 Palestinians, six of them in a shooting near a US-backed aid distribution centre. The Israeli military said that troops had fired "warning shots" at individuals it said were "advancing in a way that endangered the troops". The shooting deaths were the latest reported near the aid centre run by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) in the southern district of Rafah, and came after it resumed distributions following a brief suspension in the wake of similar deaths earlier this week. The GHF, officially a private effort with opaque funding, began operations in late May as Israel partially eased a more than two-month-long aid blockade. UN agencies and major aid groups have declined to work with it, citing concerns it serves Israeli military goals. On Saturday, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that the overall toll for the Gaza war had reached 54,772, the majority civilians. The UN considers these figures reliable. — AFP
Observer
a day ago
- Observer
Iran plans to submit own nuclear proposal to US soon
TEHRAN: Iran said on Monday it will soon present a counter-proposal on a nuclear deal with the United States, after it had described Washington's offer as containing "ambiguities". Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear accord to replace the deal with major powers that US President Donald Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018. The longtime foes have been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a "non-negotiable" right and Washington describing it as a "red line". On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received "elements" of a US proposal, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later saying the text contained "ambiguities". Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei criticised the US proposal as "lacking elements" reflective of the previous rounds of negotiations, without providing further details. "We will soon submit our own proposed plan to the other side once it is finalised," Baqaei told a weekly press briefing. "It is a proposal that is reasonable, logical and balanced, and we strongly recommend that the American side value this opportunity." Also on Monday, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told state news agency IRNA that Iran's response "is a framework for agreement". "If we reach an understanding on this framework in principle, further extensive negotiations will begin on its details," he added. Iran's parliament speaker has said the US proposal failed to include the lifting of sanctions -- a key demand for Tehran, which has been reeling under their weight for years. Trump, who has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions on Iran since taking office in January, has repeatedly said Tehran will not be allowed any uranium enrichment under a potential deal. On Wednesday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the US offer was "100 per cent against" notions of independence and self-reliance. He insisted that uranium enrichment was "key" to Iran's nuclear programme and that the US "cannot have a say" on the issue. Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 per cent, far above the 3.67-per cent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 per cent needed for a nuclear warhead. The United Nations nuclear watchdog on Monday began a Board of Governors meeting in Vienna that will last until Friday to discuss Iran's nuclear activities among other topics. "I call upon Iran urgently to cooperate fully and effectively with the International Atomic Energy Agency," said agency chief Rafael Grossi in his opening speech. "Unless and until Iran assists the agency in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues, the agency will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful," he added. — AFP
