NSA Ajit Doval, Tulsi Gabbard meet; discuss terrorism, emerging threats | India News
National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval held bilateral discussions with US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Sunday, and presided over a meeting of global intelligence leaders to enhance cooperation on security challenges, including terrorism and technological threats.
The meeting between Doval and Gabbard primarily addressed intelligence sharing and security collaboration, aligning with the India-US strategic partnership, and was a “good discussion,” news agency PTI reported.
Gabbard commenced her two-and-a-half-day visit to Delhi on the day of the intelligence conclave, marking the first senior-level visit from the Donald Trump administration to India in the US President’s second term, which began in January.
Gabbard’s visit is part of a broader tour, which will also take her to Japan, Thailand and France. On Tuesday, she is scheduled to speak on second day of the Raisina Dialogue, a multilateral conference held annually in Delhi.
She previously met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s Washington DC visit last month.
Intelligence chiefs at the Doval-chaired conference
Besides Gabbard, the conference was attended by Canadian intelligence head Daniel Rogers, UK NSA Jonathan Powell, and intelligence chiefs from Australia, Germany, New Zealand and various other nations friendly to India.
The US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand constitute the Five Eyes intelligence group.
The proceedings occurred in private and no official statements were released.
The attendees concentrated on intelligence-sharing and collaborative efforts against terrorism and emerging technological threats.
Additional topics included Indo-Pacific security, counter-terrorism financing, money laundering prevention, and matters regarding extradition and immigration.
Indian officials expressed concerns regarding anti-India activities from abroad, including those by pro-Khalistan elements.
The intelligence chiefs also discussed various global issues, including the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Middle East conflict.
India-Canada tensions
Canadian spy boss Rogers’s visit occurs during strained bilateral relations between his country and New Delhi over the case of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistan sympathiser.
The bilateral ties deteriorated following then-prime minister Justin Trudeau’s September 2023 allegations about potential Indian involvement in the killing on the Canadian territory of Nijjar, a citizen of that country and a designated terrorist in India, in June that year.
New Delhi dismissed Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd.” The relations worsened when Ottawa, in October 2024, linked Indian diplomats, including high commissioner Sanjay Verma, to Nijjar’s murder.
India responded by recalling Verma and five other diplomats, and expelled six Canadian diplomats, including Charge d’Affaires Stewart Wheeler.
