1. The 13th Meeting of India-France Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism was held in Paris on 15th February 2019. The Indian delegation was led by Shri Mahaveer Singhvi, Joint Secretary (Counter Terrorism), Ministry of External Affairs, while the French
delegation was led by Mr. Nicolas Roche, Assistant Secretary of State for Strategic, Security and Disarmament Affairs of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
2.The French side reiterated their strong condemnation of the dastardly terrorist act in Pulwama the day before and expressed solidarity with the families of the victims and the people of India. It also called upon each State to effectively combat terrorist
networks and their financing channels and to prevent the cross-border movement of terrorist groups, such as the Jaish-e-Mohammed that claimed responsibility for this attack.
3.The bilateral Joint Working Group reviewed threats posed by terrorist groups worldwide and in their respective regions including cross border terrorism in the South Asian region. They exchanged views on current counter-terrorism challenges including countering
radicalization, combating financing of terrorism and preventing use of internet for terrorist purposes.
4.The two sides also deliberated upon measures to deepen counter-terrorism cooperation through regular exchange of information, mutual capacity building efforts, sharing of best practices and mutual legal assistance. Cooperation in multilateral fora such as
the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force was also discussed.
5.The next meeting of the Joint Working Group will be held in India on mutually convenient dates.
New Delhi
February 15, 2019