US invites India to meeting on resurgence of ‘far-left terrorism’
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India is among more than 60 countries invited by the United States to participate in what Washington has described as a ministerial-level meeting on the resurgence of transnational far-left terrorism, even as several allied nations have expressed scepticism and questioned the rationale for their inclusion in the initiative.
According to a report by The Washington Post, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invited senior ministers from over 60 countries to attend the meeting in Washington on July 16.
The Trump administration says the gathering aims to strengthen international cooperation against what it views as an emerging transnational security threat posed by violent far-left extremist networks.
The invitation list reportedly includes India, Indonesia and Singapore, along with most European countries and several major Latin American nations. There was, however, no immediate confirmation from New Delhi on whether it had received the invitation, accepted it, or at what level it would be represented.
The proposal has drawn reservations from diplomats and counterterrorism experts, many of whom dispute the administration's assessment of the threat. Several European diplomats reportedly questioned both the purpose of the meeting and the reasons their countries had been invited.
Some indicated that their foreign or interior ministers were unlikely to attend, citing the short notice and uncertainty surrounding the agenda. One diplomat was quoted as saying, "We don't have antifa," while another remarked that there appeared to be little justification for their country's participation.
The meeting follows the Trump administration's release in May of a revised counterterrorism strategy that identifies violent secular political groups, including those linked to antifa, as a priority alongside other terrorist threats.
The strategy builds on an executive order issued by President Donald Trump last year describing antifa as a "domestic terrorist organisation", although legal experts have noted that such a designation has no formal standing under US law.
Defending the initiative, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said far-left terrorism was "an old threat re-emerging with strong transnational links and new convergences", warranting closer international cooperation.
Counterterrorism specialists, however, argued that the administration's focus departs from prevailing assessments in Europe, where many security experts continue to regard right-wing violent extremism as the more pressing threat.