On Monday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan addressed the second UN High Level Conference of Heads of Counter Terrorism Agencies of Member States. During his speech, Farhan strictly condemned terrorism in all its forms. Stressing the significance of the international collaboration in fighting against terrorism, the Saudi Minister called all member states, international and regional organizations to take the necessary steps for implementing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism strategy.
Being among the founding nations of the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre, which was established in 2011, Saudi Arabia highlighted that the institution maintains its importance as a supportive partner of the UN in combating terrorism, particularly against “persistent challenges to international peace and security.”
Underlining that his country’s sensitiveness against the financing of terrorism, Faisal bin Farhan recalled that the Kingdom had ratified many bilateral, regional, and international agreements as well as contributed to international cooperation in challenging crimes related to terrorism and its financing.
Being determined as “Countering and Preventing Terrorism in the Age of Transformative Technologies,” this year’s conference theme aims to draw attention to the fact that the threat of terrorism has evolved through technology. In this sense, the Saudi top diplomat stressed that his country’s counterterrorism approach has also evolved to include “legal and technological means” in combating cyber-terrorism, in parallel to this transformation.
Within this context, Farhan said, “The National Cybersecurity Authority and the Intellectual Warfare Center are examples of national institutions established to address the root causes of extremism and terrorism, as well as the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, which counters extremist ideologies using new and innovative methods including the analysis of extremist narratives.”
The Saudi Minister also touched upon persistent terrorist attacks, referring to the Iranian-backed Houthi group’s airstrikes targeting Saudi territory. In this sense, he addressed the participants, including the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the President of the General Assembly, Volkan Bozkır, and said that Saudi Arabia is successfully combatting these terrorists.
“Condemning terrorism must go as far as condemning terrorism committed by states,” he added.
