Following the fourth U.S.-India Cyber Dialogue held at the U.S. State Department last week, the countries issued a joint statement saying they have committed to “robust cooperation” on cyber issues, the White House said Friday.
American and Indian delegations recognized several opportunities for improved cooperation including cybersecurity capacity-building, cybersecurity research and development, combatting cybercrime, international security, and Internet governance. The delegations “intend to pursue an array of follow-on activities to bolster their cybersecurity partnership and achieve concrete outcomes,” the statement said.
The dialogue was led by U.S. Cybersecurity Coordinator and Special Assistant to the President Michael Daniel and India’s Deputy National Security Adviser Arvind Gupta. U.S. Department of State Coordinator for Cyber Issues Christopher Painter and Indian Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary for Policy Planning, Counterterrorism, and Global Cyber Issues Santosh Jha co-hosted the event.
The whole-of-government dialogue also included the U.S. Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Treasury, and Commerce. India was also represented by the National Cyber Security Coordinator at the National Security Council Secretariat and the Ministries of External Affairs, Home Affairs, and Communication and Information Technology.
The delegations also discussed cyber issues including cyber threats, enhanced cybersecurity information sharing, cyber incident management, cybersecurity cooperation in the context of “Make in India,”, and norms of state behavior in cyberspace.
The delegations also met with private sector representatives to discuss cybersecurity and digital economy issues.
In addition to the formal dialogue, the Indian delegation also met with Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Concurrently, Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, met with Indian Deputy National Security Adviser Dr. Arvind Gupta. They discussed a range of issues including cybersecurity, enhanced law enforcement cooperation, and U.S.-India collaboration against Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and other terrorist threats, the White House said in a statement.
Monaco and Gupta agreed to deepen an already close collaboration on these issues, reiterating the commitment President Obama and Prime Minister Modi made in New Delhi in January to make the U.S.-India partnership “a defining counterterrorism relationship for the 21st Century,” the White House said.
The next round of the Cyber Dialogue will be held in Delhi in 2016.