The 16th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus Expert Working Group Meeting (EWG) on Counter-Terrorism, co-chaired by India and Malaysia, has commenced in New Delhi today.
Delegations from 11 ASEAN members and 7 dialogue partners, along with ASEAN Secretariat representatives, are participating in the three-day event. ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Timor Leste and dialogue partner countries include Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, China, USA and Russia. The meeting provides an important platform to deliberate on the ongoing and planned activities under the three-year work plan to further strengthen India’s multilateral cooperation on Counter-Terrorism.
In his address during the opening session, Joint Secretary in the Defence Ministry Amitabh Prasad described terrorism as the most insidious conflict of the present time, emphasising that collective efforts to fight against it will define the peace and prosperity of the region. Mr Prasad said during the two-day meeting, delegates will share best practices in counter-terrorism operations and intelligence frameworks, along with training and capacity-building initiatives.
