India sends high-level delegation to Paris meet on combating terror financing

A two-day-long multilateral meet on evolving an effective mechanism to contain terror financing began today in Paris which is being attended by a high level Indian delegation.

India is likely to press for tougher norms for financial transactions at the conference to choke flow of funds to terror organisations globally, officials said.

The conference, being organised by the French government, is being attended by over 70 countries and nearly 30 international organisations including the International Monetary Fund, United Nations, Interpol, League of Arab States World Bank and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The Indian delegation is headed by Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar and it comprised Deputy NSA Rajinder Khanna, Joint Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry Mahaveer Singhvi, Director-General of National Investigation Agency (NIA) Yogesh Chander Modi among others, according to a release by French Embassy here.

Welcoming India's participation at the conference, Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler said France was delighted that India is sending a high-level, comprehensive delegation to the event.

"This impressive participation is both a reflection of counter-terrorism being a shared priority for our two countries, and the excellence of our partnership in this regard," the release quoted him as saying.

The conference will cover aspects of terror financing and deliberate on ways to stop flow of funds to the terror groups, according to a brief note on the conference.