Egypt, a key nation in the Islamic world, has joined India in calling upon all countries to take immediate, sustained, irreversible and verifiable actions to ensure that no territory under their control was used as a terrorist safe haven and to bring to justice perpetrators of terrorist attacks.

The third meeting of the India-Egypt Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism was held yesterday in New Delhi, days after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s visit to India as the Chief Guest at the Republic Day.

In what is being interpreted in Indian circles as an endorsement of New Delhi’s stand against Pakistan, India and Egypt strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism.

 The two sides reviewed threats posed by terrorist groups globally and in their respective countries and regions. They shared their respective counter-terrorism priorities and actions undertaken to counter-terrorism, violent extremism conducive to terrorism, radicalization and terror financing.

The two sides underscored the need for taking concerted actions against all UNSC-designated terrorist entities. They further called upon all countries to work towards rooting out terrorist networks, infrastructure, their financing channels and preventing the cross-border movement of terrorists.

In the backdrop of the Delhi Declaration adopted in October 2022 during the special meeting of UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee in New Delhi and the 3rd No Money for Terror Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing in November 2022 in New Delhi, both sides discussed the way forward to address new and emerging challenges posed by virtual currencies, unmanned aerial systems and misuse of cyberspace by terrorists for terrorist propaganda.

The two sides reaffirmed the need for early finalisation and adoption of the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) which is aimed at advancing and strengthening the global counter-terrorism legal framework.

The two sides agreed to further strengthen bilateral counter-terrorism collaboration, including through training and capacity-building efforts, exchanges of good practices and information sharing.