WASHINGTON, April 22: The United States and India have decided to hold joint counter-terrorism exercises as part of a new strategy to fight extremism across the globe.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the India-US Joint Working Group on counterterrorism held in Washington this week.
In a statement issued on Friday afternoon, the US State Department said that the April19-20 meeting led to a deal on sharing information in real time, as well as ‘responding to counter-terrorism assistance requests expeditiously and collaborating to upgrade preparedness and capability to deal with acts of terrorism’.
Both sides agreed to hold joint anti-terror exercises and develop specific training programs, the State Department said.
Joint efforts to improve current mechanisms for extradition and legal cooperation were also discussed and both sides agreed to meet again later this year in New Delhi, a statement said.
The India-US Joint Working Group was set up in 2000 as part of the growing cooperation between the two countries on counter-terrorism.
In July last year, the two countries agreed to establish a ‘strategic partnership’ ranging from military cooperation to sales of civilian nuclear equipment.
The Indian Embassy in Washington said that the US and India would also hold specific training programmes on priority areas. The Indian delegation was led by K. C. Singh, additional secretary, ministry of external affairs, while the US side was led by Henry Crumpton, Coordinator for counter-terrorism, Department of State.
