India and the Philippines on Thursday strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms, including cross-border terrorism, during the second meeting of the India-Philippines Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism held in Manila.
The two sides also condemned the April 22, 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, and the November 10, 2025 terror incident near Delhi’s Red Fort, with the Philippines reiterating its solidarity with India in the fight against terrorism.
The meeting, held on May 13 and 14 in the Philippine capital, was co-chaired by Dr Vinod Bahade, Joint Secretary (Counter Terrorism) in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, and Marshall Louis M. Alferez, Assistant Secretary of Asian and Pacific Affairs in the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, both sides reviewed the evolving regional and global terror landscape and discussed cooperation in counter-terrorism, law enforcement, judicial coordination and capacity building.
The two countries underlined the need for stronger cooperation in timely intelligence sharing and coordinated action to counter the use of emerging technologies for terrorist activities and terror financing. Discussions were also held on tackling radicalisation and violent extremism linked to terrorism.
India and the Philippines further stressed the importance of strengthening international cooperation against terrorism and reaffirmed their commitment to work together in multilateral forums, including the United Nations, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
During the visit, the Indian delegation also met senior officials of the Philippines’ National Security Council and Anti-Money Laundering Council.
Both sides agreed to hold the next meeting of the Joint Working Group in India on a mutually convenient date.
