NSA Ajit Doval meets counterparts during security meet in Russia

India will continue cooperating with other stakeholders to counter terror funding and the misuse of information and communication technologies by terrorists and criminals, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval said on Wednesday.

Doval made the remarks while participating in the ‘XII International Meeting of High Ranking Officials Responsible for Security Matters’ in the Russian city of St Petersburg.

During his intervention at the plenary session with the theme of ‘Ensuring information security in the polycentric world’, Doval underscored India’s policy to use digital technology for inclusive economic development, according to a post on X by the Indian embassy in Moscow.

He “emphasised that India shall continue cooperation for countering misuse of information and communication technologies by terrorists and criminals, as also for countering terror funding”. In this context, Doval said, the proposed UN convention on cybercrime will be an “important initiative” at the global level.

Since May 2021, UN member states have been negotiating a global treaty on countering cybercrime. If adopted by the UN General Assembly, this will be the first binding UN instrument on a cyber issue. However, UN member states have so far been unable to overcome differences on whether the proposed convention on cybercrime should be a traditional treaty or a broader arrangement covering all crimes committed using information and communications technologies.

Doval also backed international cooperation for an open, stable, secure, reliable and inclusive framework for ensuring information security.

He suggested that a roadmap for such cooperation should include stakeholders from governments to the private sector, academia, technical communities and civil society, and regular institutional dialogues to help develop common understanding on critical issues.

The roadmap should also include capacity building of like-minded nations through training, education, awareness programmes and development of security standards for emerging technologies, and the creation of mechanisms for cooperation at the domestic and international levels.

Doval also held bilateral meetings with some counterparts from other countries on the sidelines of the international meeting.

During a meeting with his Myanmar counterpart, Admiral Moe Aung, Doval discussed the current situation in that country and the status of India-funded infrastructure projects, the Indian embassy said in a separate post.

Doval and Aung also discussed recent developments along the India-Myanmar border, including issues related to security, refugees, and development projects.

Myanmar’s junta is under growing pressure because of a string of military successes scored by resistance forces, which have overrun dozens of military bases and captured crucial border trade and crossing points along the frontier with India.

During Doval’s bilateral meeting with Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council of Russia, both sides reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation and discussed important issues of mutual interest.

Doval also spoke at a luncheon meeting of NSAs of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (Brics) grouping hosted by Patrushev and called for closer cooperation in the fight against terrorism and concrete actions to prevent trans-border planning, funding and execution of terrorist acts.