NSA Ajit Doval Hosts Inaugural IBSA National Security Advisers Meeting

National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval hosted the inaugural meeting of the National Security Advisers of the India-Brazil-South Africa Trilateral Cooperative Forum (IBSA) grouping on Wednesday, as part of the preparatory process for the next IBSA Summit of Leaders scheduled for September this year.

During the inaugural meeting today, held virtually, discussions were held on maritime security, the fight against terrorism and transnational organised crime and cyber security.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) release, the theme for India’s Chairship under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “Democracy for Demography and Development”.

This was the first such gathering of National Security Advisers from IBSA countries, demonstrating the importance of closer cooperation among the three countries in confronting the world’s growing political and security challenges.

India, Brazil and South Africa are three large developing countries located on three different continents bound by common values of democracy and pluralism.

“During the meeting, discussions were held on maritime security, fight against terrorism and transnational organised crime, and cyber security. Participants agreed that terrorism, in particular, cross-border terrorism undertaken through state sponsorship, continues to be the most potent threat to global peace and security and must be fought through united efforts,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

They also agreed to enhance cooperation in intelligence sharing, exchange of best practices amongst concerned national agencies and capacity building, MEA said.

Maritime security has been identified as an important potential area of partnership. It was agreed to strengthen processes to combat piracy, drug and human trafficking, and to safeguard the security of sea lines of communication and energy, as well as the sustainable use of marine resources such as fishing.

Meanwhile, the next phase of the trilateral maritime exercise ‘IBSAMAR’ is slated to commence soon.

In addition, India has invited Brazil and South Africa to take part in the ‘2022 MILAN’ naval exercise.

India also proposed defence industry cooperation based on each country’s respective strengths and resource pooling for joint platform development, especially naval systems.

Representatives from the three countries also agreed to expand practical cooperation in cyber security and accepted India’s offer to host a meeting of the Cyber Security Experts Group. They also agreed to strengthen internal UN coordination on cyber and information technology issues.

Source: India Today