Quad announces establishment of Working Group on Counter-Terrorism

New Delhi: Quad grouping of countries comprising of US, Japan, Australia and India on Friday announced the establishment of a Working Group on Counter-Terrorism in sharpening of the group's focus to combat terror. A joint statement of the Quad Leaders issued in New Delhi today denounced the use of terrorist proxies and committed to promote accountability for terrorist attacks including the 26/11 attack in Mumbai, "which claimed lives of citizens from all Quad countries". "We announce the establishment of the Quad Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, which will explore cooperation amongst the Quad and with Indo-Pacific partners, to counter new and emerging forms of terrorism, radicalization to violence and violent extremism," the joint statement said. Earlier during a panel discussion on "The Quad Squad: Power and Purpose of the Polygon," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that new things have come out during the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting. "We are pleased to note the progress made under the Quad Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Partnership for the Indo-Pacific, since our last meeting in September 2022, when we signed the Guidelines for the Partnership," read the statement Quad welcomed the outcomes of the first HADR tabletop exercise and biannual meeting held in India in December 2022 and looks forward to the finalization of the Partnership's Standard Operating Procedures which would enable an efficacious and coordinated response mechanism.