ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the European Union have reaffirmed their determination to jointly combat terrorism by increasing cooperation on the prevention and countering of violent extremism, offline and online radicalisation, and combating terrorism financing.

The resolve was made during the Pakistan-European Union Counter Terrorism Dialogue, which was held in Brussels on April 27, 2023.

Through the joint statement issued here on Friday, the two sides stated that the dialogue offered an opportunity to engage in important discussions on counter- terrorism cooperation, as part of a wider engagement on security matters in the framework of the 2019 Strategic Engagement Plan.

“Both sides strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reaffirmed their determination to jointly combat terrorism by increasing cooperation on the prevention and countering of violent extremism, offline and online radicalization, and combating terrorism financing,” read the joint statement.

It added that the two sides also discussed counter-terrorism cooperation in multilateral fora such as UN and the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum, which the EU co-chairs.

“The dialogue provided an opportunity to exchange views on regional and global challenges, including the wider security implications of the situation in Afghanistan,” it stated.

It added that the meeting offered an opportunity to explore concrete ways of assisting Pakistan’s efforts in addressing the growing challenges posed by the evolving threats of terrorism.

The respective delegations were led by Benedikta Von Seherr-Thoss, Managing Director, Common Security and Defence Policy at the European External Action Service and Abdul Hameed, Director General for Counter Terrorism at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023