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Media Note
Office of the
Spokesman
Washington,
DC
November 10, 2004
United States and India Launch New Phase of Cyber Security
Cooperation
On November 9-10, the United
States hosted the second meeting of the U.S.-India Cyber Security Forum,
convening government and industry representatives from both countries to
identify areas for collaboration in combating cyber-crime, cyber security
research and development, information assurance and defense cooperation,
standards and software assurance, and cyber incident management and
response.
In a prepared statement read to the delegates, Under
Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman emphasized that the
U.S.-India Cyber Security Forum "holds great promise for future
cooperation." The Indian Head of Delegation, National Security Council
Secretariat Joint Secretary Arvind Gupta, delivering a statement to the
Forum on behalf of J.N. Dixit, India’s National Security Advisor, said
that "Securing cyberspace will remain one of the biggest challenges facing
the international community for years to come and this Cyber Security
Forum has emerged as an important bilateral mechanism to address such
issues."
The first meeting of the U.S.-India Cyber Security Forum
was held in New Delhi in April 2002 in recognition of the increasing
interdependency between India and the United States in the information
technology field. U.S. government and corporations utilize information
technology companies in India at a rate of about $9 billion annually. "As
this trend increases, it is crucial that our governments and private
industry work together to ensure an environment for secure transactions,
networks, and software development," said Assistant Secretary of State for
Political-Military Affairs Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr., who headed the U.S.
delegation to the meeting.
During the conference the United States and India
reaffirmed their commitment to cooperation on securing cyberspace by
establishing five joint working groups and identifying action plans for
each. Future efforts will include workshops in New Delhi and Washington
and scientific exchanges. Representatives of private industry similarly
identified areas to strengthen cooperation.
2004/1220
Released on November 10, 2004
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