All India Radio, UPSC Articles
12th Counter Terrorism Dialogue between India and the European Union (EU)
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Topic: General Studies 3:
- Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
The 12th Counter Terrorism Dialogue between the European Union (EU) and India was held virtually on 19th November 2020. The Dialogue was an opportunity to continue close cooperation and coordination on this important element of the EU – India strategic partnership. Both the EU and India resolved to support each other in the fight against terrorism.
- The EU and India strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations including the use of terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism.
- India condemned the recent terror attacks in the Member States of the European Union and expressed condolences to the families of the victims.
- The EU reiterated its condemnation of terrorist attacks in India, including 26/11 Mumbai, Pathankot and Pulwama and reiterated its support for the people and government of India in the fight against terrorism.
- The participants of the Dialogue reviewed threats posed by UN-sanctioned terrorist entities and emphasised the need for concerted action against all terrorist networks.
The EU and India exchanged views on current counter-terrorism challenges, including
- Countering radicalisation and violent extremism,
- Combating the financing of terrorism, and
- Tackling terrorist use of the internet.
They agreed to strengthen cooperation in dealing with these challenges. The participants also discussed sanctions as a tool to combat terrorism, including designations of certain terrorist groups and individuals. They discussed ways to deepen cooperation between Indian Agencies and their European counterparts, including Europol, to enhance interaction in the sphere of counter terrorism.
In this context, they referred to the on-going negotiations on a working arrangement between Europol and the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation to support Indian and EU law enforcement authorities in preventing and combating organised crime and terrorism.
The Way Forward
The EU and India emphasised the need for strengthening international cooperation to combat terrorism in a comprehensive and sustained manner.
- Reaffirmed that it is crucial that perpetrators of violence and terrorism are brought to justice.
- All countries should take immediate, sustained and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under their control is used for terrorist attacks on other countries.
The two sides described counter-terrorism cooperation as an important element of the EU-India strategic partnership, and discussed the need to work together at multilateral forums such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Global Counterterrorism Forum and the UN, including the UN High-Level Counter-terrorism Week 2021 and the upcoming review of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
Important value additions:
The Global Terrorism Index (GTI)
India is ranked as seventh worst terrorism affected country in Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2019 report.
- It is a report published annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), a global think tank
- It is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.
- The index provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism since 2000.
- GTI scores are directly used in the Global Peace Index, the Global Slavery Report,
- It is also indirectly used in reports of World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness and Global Competitiveness Indices and compilation of Safe Cities Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Connecting the Dots:
- What do you understand by state sponsored terrorism? How is it a threat to India’s internal security? Examine.
- India is the typical example of a country suffering from external state sponsored terrorism. Comment. How is the government planning to address it? Discuss.
