Quad announces formation of Working Group on Counter-Terrorism
The group also welcomed the focused discussions on these themes at the Quad Counter-Terrorism Policy meeting and tabletop exercise hosted by Australia in October 2022 and looked forward to its first meeting in the United States in March 2023 to continue discussions on this global issue.
Quad Group on Friday announced the establishment of a Working Group on Counter-Terrorism in sharpening its focus to combat terror. A joint statement of the Quad leaders, comprising the US, Japan, Australia, and India, was issued in New Delhi today, according to the news agency ANI.
The statement denounced the use of terrorist proxies and committed to promoting accountability for terrorist attacks including the 26/11 attack in Mumbai, "which claimed lives of citizens from all Quad countries".
Heavily-armed terrorists from Pakistan struck Mumbai on November 26, 2008, in which at least 174 people, including 26 foreign nationals, were killed and over 300 people injured.
"We announce the establishment of the Quad Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, which will explore cooperation amongst the Quad and with Indo-Pacific partners, to counter new and emerging forms of terrorism, radicalization to violence and violent extremism," the statement read.
It noted that terrorism has become increasingly diffuse, aided by terrorists' adaptation to, and the use of emerging and evolving technologies such as unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and the internet, including social media platforms for recruitment and incitement to commit terrorist acts, as well as for the financing, planning, and preparation of terrorist activities, ANI reported.
The group also welcomed the focused discussions on these themes at the Quad Counter-Terrorism Policy meeting and tabletop exercise hosted by Australia in October 2022 and looked forward to its first meeting in the United States in March 2023 to continue discussions on this global issue.
Earlier during a panel discussion on "The Quad Squad: Power and Purpose of the Polygon," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that new things have come out during the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
"If you ask me what were the new things which came out today, we agreed on a counter-terrorism working group. We agreed on cooperating more closely with Indian Ocean Rim Association. We agreed that we had earlier worked out a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Quad initiative," Jaishankar said.
"We are pleased to note the progress made under the Quad Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Partnership (HADR) for the Indo-Pacific, since our last meeting in September 2022, when we signed the Guidelines for the Partnership," he added.
(With ANI inputs)
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First Published:3 Mar 2023, 01:15 PM IST
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