FBI Director Christopher Wray met CBI Director Praveen Sood in India’s capital New Delhi on Monday (Dec 11) where ways to achieve greater cooperation in cyber-related financial crimes along with other topics were discussed, news agency PTI reported citing officials.

Wray and other senior officials reached the agency headquarters in the afternoon for the meeting.

The FBI Director, during his two-day visit to India, is set to meet top officials of Indian security and law enforcement establishments, the officials said.

He arrived in New Delhi on Sunday evening (Dec 10).

Wray and Sood, during their meeting, discussed issues related to the exchange of information on cybercrime cases, narcotics, pending judicial requests and extradition of wanted criminals, people familiar with the matter said.

“Both agencies recognized the challenges posed by organized crime networks, cyber-enabled financial crimes, ransomware threats, economic crimes and transnational crimes,” CBI said in an official press statement.

The high-profile visit comes against the backdrop of allegations by Washington over India’s alleged connection to a foiled plot to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil.

The US Ambassador, Eric Garcetti during a panel discussion at the Carnegie ‘Global Technology Summit’, had made a mention of the FBI director’s visit to India.

He said that India was “the number one country she (US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen) went to outside the United States, four times this year. The Secretary of State (Antony Blinken) just came here for the third time. Secretary of Defence (Lloyd Austin) for the second time. The FBI director is here next week.”

Earlier, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on being asked about Wray’s visit to India, said that it was a part of the overall bilateral cooperation in areas of cyber security, counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics.

“As you’re aware, we have robust security, cyber-security, counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics cooperation with the US agencies. We are also engaged in capacity-building programs. So as part of this ongoing bilateral cooperation, a visit By the FBI director is in the works,” he had said.