Global Cooperation Against Terror: India to Host Key ASEAN Meeting

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): An important international meeting is going to be held in India against terrorism. During this, various countries will brainstorm on counter terrorism. According to the Ministry of Defense, this is the 14th meeting of the Expert Working Group (EWG) of the 'ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus'. This meeting on counter terrorism will be held in New Delhi from 19 to 20 March 2025. The Defence Ministry says that this is the first time that India will co-chair the Expert Working Group on Counter-Terrorism. This meeting will be co-chaired by India and Malaysia. Delegations from 10 ASEAN member countries are coming to India to attend the meeting. These include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand. Representatives from the eight dialogue partners, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, China, the US and Russia, as well as members of Timor-Leste and the ASEAN Secretariat will also participate in it. India's Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh will deliver the keynote address during the inaugural ceremony on March 19. This meeting will be the first session of the activities of the Expert Working Group on Counter-Terrorism for the current cycle of 2024-2027. This meeting will discuss a strong and comprehensive strategy to deal with the evolving threats of terrorism and extremism. The purpose of the meeting is to share experiences of the defense forces of ASEAN and its dialogue partners.

The event will lay the foundation for planned activities, exercises, seminars, workshops for the current cycle of 2024-2027. According to the Ministry of Defence, the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus serves as a platform for practical cooperation between defence entities of partner countries. It currently focuses on seven key cooperation areas. These include counter-terrorism, maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster management, peacekeeping operations, military medicine and cyber security. Expert Working Groups have been established to promote cooperation in these areas. Each Expert Working Group is co-chaired by an ASEAN Member State and a Dialogue Partner, working in a three-year cycle. At the beginning of this three-year cycle, the Expert Working Group is tasked with setting objectives, policy guidelines and directions. Regular Expert Working Group meetings are organized and at least two meetings are held in a year. In the third year, various types of exercises are organized for all member countries. This includes conducting table-top, field training, communication training, etc. This is done to test the progress made in practical cooperation during the three-year cycle.