India’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, has appealed for broader cooperation in countering the misuse of information technology by extremists and criminals, as well as cracking down on terrorism funding. Speaking at the XII International Meeting of High-Level Security Officials in St. Petersburg, Russia, Doval asserted that India is keen on collaborating with other nations to establish an open, stable, secure, and dependable framework for information security. He stressed the significance of such collaboration at both domestic and international levels.
Doval joined delegates from over 100 countries at the annual gathering, hosted by the Russian Security Council since 2010. The meeting brings together secretaries of security councils, national security advisors, deputy prime ministers, heads of security forces, and intelligence agencies. Russian President Vladimir Putin, addressing the conference, highlighted the event’s focus on “issues of protecting the information space from external and internal threats.”
Putin emphasized the relevance of this topic for all countries, particularly for ensuring national security, social stability, and economic development. He stated that the global community should work towards establishing unified, legally binding norms and principles of conduct for states in the information sphere.
In his intervention at the plenary session on Ensuring Information Security in the Polycentric World, NSA Doval outlined India’s policy of leveraging digital technology for inclusive economic development and called for international cooperation for an open, stable, secure, and… pic.twitter.com/Y0JhbHSL1f.
Opening the plenary session, Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev pledged Russia’s continued advocacy for a “just world order” based on equality and respect for cultural and civilizational diversity. This year’s meeting was held just weeks after a devastating terrorist attack at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall, which claimed over 140 lives. Russian investigators have linked the attack to Ukrainian nationalists, while Ukraine denies any involvement. Western partners maintain that the attack was carried out by ISIS-K, an Afghanistan-based offshoot of the Islamic State. The group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
During the two-day conference, Doval held bilateral meetings with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev, his Myanmar counterpart Admiral Moe Aung, and the chief advisor to the President of Brazil, Celso Amorim, as reported by the Indian Embassy in Moscow. Doval also addressed the BRICS national security advisors’ meeting, urging for closer cooperation in combating terrorism and concrete actions to prevent cross-border planning, funding, and execution of terrorist acts.
