On Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that operational collaboration between India and the United States in the realm of counter-narcotics has experienced a significant increase in recent years, and New Delhi is eager to enhance this joint initiative.
In response to a question during the weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that collaborative operations between India and the US have been instrumental in dismantling numerous major transnational drug networks.
He characterized counter-narcotics as a “very good” area for cooperation, emphasizing that it is expected to be further strengthened.
The cooperation has intensified since the establishment of the India–US Counternarcotics Working Group in 2020. During its fifth meeting, which took place in October of the previous year, both parties adopted measures aimed at enhancing their response to mutual challenges, Jaiswal noted. Preparations for the sixth meeting are currently in progress.
“We have a robust mechanism for information sharing between the US and India, which has led to significant seizures and arrests,” the MEA spokesperson remarked.
India maintains a “very strong collaboration, and not merely strong collaboration, but institutional collaboration with the United States, founded on long-standing agreements between the two nations,” he added.
Furthermore, operational cooperation between the two countries has “surged in recent years, marked by significant two-way interdictions and coordinated enforcement.”
