Maldives and India in talks for setting up counter-terror system

Amid concerns over militant groups like ISIS attempting to radicalise its citizens, the Maldives on Monday said that it is in talks with India for setting up a bilateral counter-terrorism mechanism to combat the menace.

Maldivian Foreign Secretary Ali Naseer Mohamed, who held talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar over the weekend on a host of issues, said discussions on setting up such a mechanism were ongoing.

“The mechanism we are discussing with India is a bilateral one and our security and intelligence cooperation is mainly bilateral. It is a continuing discussion. The two countries are sharing ideas on how to make it operational. We have to work out the details,” Ali said.

He asserted that the Maldives and India have a common interest in stopping radicalisation, counter-terrorism and addressing such issues.

Maldivian High Commissioner to India Ahmed Mohamed said, “There is a discussion between the Indian government and the Maldives on establishing a cross-border mechanism to address this issue and already the Maldives has institutionalised the process. We will be soon forming the mechanism.”