India and Egypt resolve to enhance anti-terror cooperation

India and Egypt called for concerted global efforts against all UN-designated terrorist entities and their affiliates, proxy groups, supporters, sponsors and financiers.

Both sides reviewed a wide range of traditional and emerging threats and challenges such as terrorist recruitment, abuse of technology for terrorist purposes and financing of terrorism, during a high-level meeting held in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The two sides also agreed to bolster bilateral cooperation in combating the threat of terrorism.

“India and Egypt underscored the importance of bilateral cooperation in countering terrorism, reflecting the spirit of India-Egypt Strategic Partnership,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on the India-Egypt Joint Working Group meeting on Counter-Terrorism.

It said the two sides unequivocally and strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms, including cross-border terrorism, while reaffirming the principle of zero tolerance towards the menace.

India and Egypt reiterated that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group, the MEA said.

The two sides also strongly condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attack as well as the terror incident near the Red Fort in November last year.

India and Egypt stressed that all those involved in terrorist activities and their supporters must be held accountable and brought to justice, the MEA said.

“Egypt reaffirmed its solidarity with India against all forms of terrorism aimed at undermining the country’s security and stability,” it said.

The MEA said the two sides called for “concerted actions against all UN-designated terrorists and terrorist entities and their affiliates, proxy groups, supporters, sponsors, financiers and backers.”

It said both sides reviewed a wide range of traditional and emerging threats and challenges such as terrorist recruitment, abuse of technology for terrorist purposes and financing of terrorism.

“They expressed concerns over the increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones and AI for terrorist purposes,” it said.

“The two sides discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in areas of training and capacity building, cyber security, judicial cooperation, exchange of best practices and information sharing,” the MEA added.