Later this month, India will host two sessions of the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee, including an unofficial but symbolic gathering at the Taj Palace Hotel, which served as one of the primary targets of the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008.
People with knowledge of the situation stated on Wednesday that the Counter-Terrorism Committee seldom convenes outside of the UN's New York headquarters, and the meetings scheduled for October 28–29 in New Delhi and Mumbai will mark only the seventh time that the panel's members will assemble abroad.
Additionally, they will be the first gatherings held away from the UN headquarters since 2015. India will serve as the committee's head for 2022. The Counter-Terrorism Committee is composed of all 15 permanent and non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.
“The fact that the committee has agreed to meet in India, especially when such meetings are mostly held within the UN system, reflects the importance attached to counter-terrorism efforts by India,” One of those who was previously cited said.
The meeting in New Delhi will serve as the primary venue for the Counter-Terrorism Committee's official work. In addition to briefings and presentations by specialists on terrorism and security, the 15 members of the Security Council and other UN member states that will be special invitees will discuss these issues, according to the sources.
The gathering at the Taj Palace Hotel, where terrorists from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) massacred over 30 people during a three-day siege of Mumbai in November 2008, will occur before the formal meeting and will be more symbolic in character, according to the sources. This will be an opportunity for the Indian side to demonstrate to the UN Security Council members how their nation has endured cross-border terrorism over time.
The persons said that the Indian side is also collaborating with other Security Council members on a final report that will issue a strong warning against all forms of terrorism and try to develop a coordinated response to the threat.