India and Maldives reinforce counter-terrorism cooperation and sign immigration MoU

India and the Maldives on Monday strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms, including cross-border terrorism, as both countries reaffirmed counter-terrorism cooperation as an important aspect of maintaining security in the strategically vital Indian Ocean Region.

The two countries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation on immigration matters on Monday between the Maldives Immigration of the Maldives and India's Bureau of Immigration.The Second Meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, Countering Violent Extremism and De-Radicalisation was held here in a cordial and constructive atmosphere, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release.The Indian delegation was led by Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West) Ministry of External Affairs and the Maldivian delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Ahmed Latheef.

Emphasising the need for strengthening international cooperation to combat terrorism in a comprehensive and sustained manner both countries reaffirmed counter-terrorism cooperation as an important aspect of maintaining security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).Both sides reviewed threats posed by terrorist entities that are under UN sanctions and emphasised the need for concerted action against all terrorist networks.They underlined the urgent need for all countries to take immediate, sustained, verifiable, and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under their control is used for terrorist attacks on others and to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks, the External Affairs ministry said.

"Maldives and India strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism," it said.

Both sides shared their experiences in combating terrorism and extremism and exchanged views on various areas of cooperation including countering radicalisation and violent extremism, combating financing of terrorism and preventing exploitation of the internet and cyberspace for terrorism and violent extremism.

They also exchanged ideas on mutual information sharing, capacity building and establishing institutional linkages between law enforcement agencies, security forces, customs, immigration and other relevant agencies.India and the Maldives exchanged views on enhancing bilateral cooperation against organised crime and narcotics, repatriation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of returnees, the ministry said in a press release.Both sides pledged to strengthen cooperation that will include further assistance and capacity building for the security and law enforcement agencies.They also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation and enhancing dialogues in multilateral fora through United Nations and at other global and regional platforms such as the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC).

The Indian delegation will also visit the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) during their stay in Male’.The MoU on cooperation on immigration matters was signed on Monday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was attended by officials from both governments.The Controller General of Maldives Immigration, Mohamed Ahmed Hussain, and Joint Secretary (Foreigners) at Ministry of Home Affairs of India, Sumant Singh signed the MoU on behalf of the respective authority.

The areas of cooperation which are endorsed through the MoU include; exchanging information of mutual interest, fostering border control management, and facilitating cooperation for capacity building.Additionally, it includes promoting cooperation on issues of irregular migration, people smuggling, trafficking in persons and other related transnational crimes, Maldives Immigration Department said in a press release.