MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. Russia and India have confirmed their plans to broaden practical cooperation in cyber security, the press service of Russia’s Security Council said on Friday.

The issue was in the focus of a meeting between the Indian Prime Minister’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, and the Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Oleg Khramov, in New Delhi.

"The sides confirmed their intention to expand practical cooperation including the exchange of technological information," the report said. "They also agreed to prevent the utilization of IT for criminal and terrorist purposes."

Khramov and Ajit stressed the importance of adopting the regulations, norms and principles of a responsible conduct by countries in the cyber sphere under the UN’s role as a coordinator.

They called for keeping up the activities of the UN Group of Government Experts [GGE] on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the context drafting the rules, norms and principles of IT utilization.

Khramov and Ajit also discussed a possible setting up of long-term mechanism for cooperation between the relevant agencies and authorities of the two countries in the framework of the 2016 intergovernmental agreement on security in information and telecommunications technologies.

New Delhi hosted a second round of Russian-Indian consultations on cyber security issues. Deputy National Security Advisor Rajinder Khanna chaired the Indian delegation at the conference and Oleg Khramov led the Russian delegation.

"The sides confirmed the shared concerns over the current threats in the sphere of information technologies and telecommunications, as well as the common approaches to cybersecurity," the Russian Security Council said.

"The Russian and Indian delegations made emphasis on the importance of collaboration between the specialized agencies," the report said.