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‘Because of what happened…’: MEA official on why Mumbai is special for UNSC anti-terror meet
The two-day counter terror meeting will be hosted by India in Mumbai and Delhi on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to hold a meeting on counter terrorism, hosted by India, at Mumbai's iconic Taj Hotel, which holds a special significance as one of the sites of the 2008 terror attack. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Mumbai and Delhi on 28 and 29 October, respectively.
Speaking on why the committee chose to hold the meeting in Mumbai, external affairs secretary Sanjay Verma said the city reflects ‘the best of India’ in terms of economic development in recent years, especially after what it went through in 2008.
“The larger purpose of this unprecedented meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee in Mumbai will resonate with rest of the world because what happened in 2008 was an attack on what would be the identity of India in financial and commercial space,” said Verma.
“A city which reflects the best of India in terms of its economic development in recent years. The fact that the CTC has agreed to begin its deliberations in Mumbai is a message in itself,” he noted.
On Friday, UNSC ambassadors from all countries will attend a memorial for victims of the 26/11 terror attacks in the city.
The meeting, Verma said, would have an overarching theme of ‘countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes’. It will focus on the use of internet, payment mechanism and drones by terrorists.
