In the wake of the deadly attacks in Paris last Friday, India and France are now set to step up joint efforts to combat terrorism, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval likely to meet his counterpart French President Francois Hollande’s diplomatic advisor Jacques Audibert soon.





Doval and Audibert will co-chair India-France strategic dialogue, which is expected to explore ways to boost bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation. The meeting, officials told Deccan Herald in New Delhi, may take place when Doval will travel to Paris with the prime minister, who will attend the COP 21 – the climate summit convened by the United Nations commencing on November 29.



Francois Richier, France’s ambassador to India, on Monday said that the joint working group on counter-terrorism would also meet in New Delhi “in near future”.



At least 129 people were killed as three teams of terrorists carried out a series of coordinated attacks in and around Paris late on Friday. The Islamic State, which emerged as the most brutal and powerful terrorist outfit of the world since mid-2014, claimed responsibility for the attacks that also left over 350 others injured.



Even as French Air Force stepped up strikes on Islamic State facilities in Syria to respond to the terror attacks in Paris, Richier on Monday underscored the need for India and France to support each other to combat the scourge of terrorism globally.



Briefing mediapersons in New Delhi, he noted that India and France already had strong security cooperation and both nations would support endeavours to strengthen international frameworks to forge closer cooperation to dismantle terrorist infrastructure, deny safe havens to terrorists and to bring perpetrators of attacks and conspirators to justice.



Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, said that India stood by France and was ready to assist the government and the people of France “in facing the tragedy”.

