The 16th Meeting of India-France Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism was held in New Delhi on 15 April 2024. The Indian delegation was led by Joint Secretary (CT), Ministry of External Affairs of the Republic of India, Mr. K.D. Dewal, and the French delegation, by H.E. Ambassador Olivier Caron, Special Envoy for Counter-Terrorism and Organized Crime. Both sides exchanged views on the terrorist threats in their respective regions, including State-sponsored, cross-border terrorism in South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, besides terror activities in the Af-Pak region.
The two sides assessed counter terrorism challenges, including the use of new and emerging technologies by terrorists, misuse of internet for terrorist purposes, radicalisation and terror financing. Anti-India separatist activities, and countering terror financing, organised crime and narco-terror network also featured in the discussions. The Indian side presented its viewpoints on NMFT and FATF, which led to an exchange of respective positions by the two sides. Both sides emphasised the importance of strengthening counter-terrorism cooperation through exchange of information, capacity building, training programmes & exercises, and cooperation at the multilateral fora, such as the UN, FATF and NMFT. The two sides agreed to hold the 17th Meeting of JWG on CT in France on a mutually-convenient date.
