Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) held a bilateral consultation meeting with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia to strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation.

"This ninth bilateral consultation meeting is a routine annual meeting to strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation," BNPT head Rycko Amelza Dahniel said in Canberra, Australia, on Thursday (September 14, 2023), according to a written statement released here on Saturday.

The meeting, he informed, was also a part of the implementation of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Australian and Indonesian governments on countermeasures for terrorism and violence-based extremism.

Dahniel said that the meeting discussed the assessment of terror threats and priorities for the handling of terrorism in the future.

In addition, the meeting emphasized the importance of cooperation and collaboration in counterterrorism, he informed.

"(It is a) multidisciplinary bilateral consultation meeting that shows the close relations between the two countries and the importance of collaboration of stakeholders in counterterrorism," he said.

Meanwhile, the Australian ambassador for counter-terrorism, Richard Feakes, expressed appreciation for the various counterterrorism cooperations that have been established so far between Indonesia and Australia.

He said that Indonesia is an important partner for Australia in tackling counterterrorism.

During Thursday's meeting, the two parties focused on the threat of online radicalization targeting young people, terror groups, and terror financing.

Indonesia and Australia also committed to continuing cooperation, through dialogue at bilateral, regional, and multilateral forums, as well as technical cooperation.

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Translator: Fianda Sjofjan, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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