File photo: US Ambassador Richard Verma meeting Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow. (PTI photo)
US Ambassador to India Richard Verma today said that his country was working with India to improve counter-terrorism cooperation between the two countries. He stressed on the need for joint and concerted efforts to disrupt and degrade entities such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and the Haqqani Network.
Speaking at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington Cantonment in Tamil Nadu, Mr Verma noted that US and India have committed to making counter-terrorism cooperation a key component of bilateral ties, and said that in recent years the US has led a global coalition to "degrade, disrupt and dismantle" terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State terrorist organisations.
"President Obama and Prime Minister Modi have also called for eliminating terrorist safe havens and infrastructure, disrupting terrorist networks and their financing, and stopping their cross-border movement," he said.
Mr Verma interacted with the faculty and students of the college on 'Emerging Indo-US Strategic Ties'. He also met two student officers from US Army and Navy who are undergoing the staff course at DSSC.
Mr Verma said that both countries are also working on efforts to improve cooperation on UN terrorist designations and expand the sharing of information on known or suspected terrorists "no matter where they may be located".
"Our counter-terrorism cooperation can become a model for the region and potentially for the world, and it is another factor that makes me genuinely optimistic about our future defence and security partnership together," he said.
His comments came just two days after Pakistan called off NSA-level talks with India. India had prepared an extensive dossier on underworld don Dawood Ibrahim who is believed to be based in Karachi.