New Delhi: India and Italy have once again jointly condemned terrorism in all its forms and reaffirmed their commitment to a zero-tolerance, comprehensive approach to prevent and combat terrorism based on the rule of law, informed the Ministry of External Affairs.

The 4th meeting of the India-Italy Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime was held at the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India on Friday.

High-level Indian and Italian officials met to share views, assess domestic, regional and international terrorist threats and discuss bilateral and multilateral cooperation in fighting terrorism and transnational organised crime, the official release said.

Joint Secretary for Counter-Terrorism in the Ministry of External Affairs KD Dewal and Deputy Director General for Political Affairs/Principal Director for Security at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alessandro Azzoni, led their respective Inter-Departmental delegations.

The two sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and shared their experience in preventing and countering terrorism, violent extremism, radicalisation, cross-border terrorist travel and financing of terrorism, it added.

They also recalled their support for a zero-tolerance, comprehensive approach to prevent and combat terrorism based on the rule of law and emphasized the importance of effective prosecution of those responsible for terrorist acts while condemning all forms of State-sponsored terrorism.

The two delegations also exchanged views on cooperation at the multilateral fora, such as the UN, FATF and GCTF. They also expressed commitment to advance the ongoing negotiations on a number of bilateral agreements in the spheres of judicial and police cooperation. The meeting set the path for future joint training and capacity-building programs, the release said.

Earlier, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said India is committed strongly to combating and uprooting organised crimes in all its manifestations.

He was speaking at the two-day Ministerial Conference organised on September 29, by the Government of Italy and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNDOC) Secretariat.

Rai's remarks came on the concluding day of the conference that marked the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crimes (UNTOC) at Palermo in Italy.

Noting that organised crime signifies a major global threat, the MoS said such crimes cannot be seen in isolation.

He mentioned that advances in technology have been leveraged by organised criminals to rapidly expand their networks.

"This includes serious challenges posed by illicit trafficking in arms, drug trafficking, organized cyber-crimes, human trafficking, corruption, money laundering and international dispersal of proceeds of crime," he said.

He also mentioned that organized crime has emerged as one of the sources of terrorism and terror financing.

Pointing that organised crime networks often have deep links with terrorist outfits and activities like money laundering and financial crimes have been known to help terror funding, the minister expressed hope that the deliberations during the Ministerial Conference will give impetus to the cause of strengthening international cooperation to combat organised crime.

The next meeting of the joint working group will be held in Rome in 2024 on a mutually convenient date.