24 NOVEMBER 2015

Ø  Against the growing tide of Islamic State violence and concerns about its possible domestic repercussions, India toughened its posture on terrorism with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asking that countries be held accountable for providing terror sanctuaries. The contours of India’s multi-pronged response to the IS threat emerged even as the post-Paris global response was firming up despite fear writ across the world, from Brussels to the U.S. mainland, of fresh attacks. New Delhi’s multi-layered stand on terrorism comes against the backdrop of reports indicating that almost 150 Indian youths may have been enticed by the IS ideology, about two dozen Indians are in the Syrian battlefield, and many others have been intercepted while trying to reach the IS sanctuary. In India, officials said Mr. Modi would spend almost three days with top intelligence and police officers in December, discussing all security threats, especially those rising from the influence of the IS, the role of social media in violent crimes and left-wing extremism.

Ø  India and Malaysia have agreed to strengthen their defence cooperation, including improved maritime security and disaster response in the region. I am pleased that we have agreed to upgrade our joint exercises and set up the SU-30 Forum. We will do more in terms of level and complexity of exercises, and collaboration in training and defence equipment. Mr. Modi reiterated that the trade and investment relations between the two countries could be scaled up significantly. India and Malaysia have signed three memoranda of understanding on Monday pertaining to cybersecurity, cooperation in management, delivery and monitoring of government programmes and cultural exchanges.