India to host UN Security Council special meeting on counter terrorism

Cryptocurrency financing and the use of drones and technology will be discussed by the committee

Indian Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar will attend the meeting of the UN Security Council’s Counter Terrorism Committee. EPA

India is to host a special meeting of the UN Security Council’s Counter Terrorism Committee to discuss financing through cryptocurrency and the use of drones and emerging technologies.

It will be the first time the South Asian nation has hosted such a meeting since the establishment of the committee in 2001.

Meetings will take place in Mumbai on Friday and capital Delhi on Saturday, Foreign Ministry secretary Sanjay Verma said on Wednesday.

Indian Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar, representatives of the security council's member states and senior UN officials will attend.

“The discussion would be on countering terrorist exploitation of information and communication technologies; countering terrorism financing — online threats and opportunities related to new payment technologies and fundraising methods; and threats posed by terrorist use of unmanned aircraft systems,” Mr Verma said.

Mr Verma said that the outcomes of the UNSC-CTC meeting would feed into India's December security council presidency. Its opening briefing is on global counter terrorism architecture principles on the way ahead, scheduled to be held in New York on December 15.

The council members, including ministers and high level officials from the UN, will also pay tribute to the victims of terrorism, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, on the first day.

Ruchira Kamboj, ambassador and permanent representative of India to the United Nations in New York, said the special meetings would see reflection on recent developments and the latest evidence-based research regarding the threats posed by the use of technology

“Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations remains to constitute one of the most serious threats to international peace and security,” Ms Kamboj said.

“With the growing prevalence of technology and the rapid rise in digitisation, addressing the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes has become an issue of increasing concern.”