The 5th regional field meeting for the “Project Al Qabdah: Counterterrorism for the Middle East and North Africa,” concluded today. This regional meeting, held at Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, Abu Dhabi, was organized by the UAE Ministry of Interior. The two-day meeting hosted 25 Arab and foreign countries and four organizations, both regional and international, including: the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS), European Police Office (Europol), and the Secretariat General of the Corporation Council for Arab states in the Gulf.
At the conclusion of the meeting, participants recommended condemnation of terrorism in all its forms, regardless of motives and justifications. Participants stressed on separating terrorism and religion and called on member countries to benefit from INTERPOL’s tools and databases and work on enhancing information exchange with the Fusion Task Force (Project Al Qabdah) at the INTERPOL’s General Secretariat.
They also called on member countries to empower security intelligence exchange, take up necessary procedures and measures to face terrorism funding operations, exchange information with concerned countries and the INTERPOL, monitor advanced applications installed on digital communication devices, and track online activities of terrorist organizations. Participants also urged member countries to go beyond professional security methods in dealing with terrorism, and consider the importance of the conceptual approach (interface) and benefit from other countries’ experiences.
The second day deliberations included a presentation and discussion of a number of papers on the efforts made by the Republic of Yemen and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in fighting terrorism, the current status of terrorism in Lebanon, and efforts made by the Arab Republic of Egypt in the counterterrorism field.
Efforts made by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to counter terrorism were also reviewed.
Participants at the meeting also discussed a number of papers on the investigative efforts in counterterrorism, terrorism funding, INTERPOL’s efforts in counterterrorism, “Project Humah” and developing a similar projects to support counterterrorism efforts in Somalia.
The project mainly aims to increase information exchange among the Sub-Department of Public Safety and Counterterrorism Affairs, member countries and the Arab Interior Minister Councils. It also aims to organize regional field meetings and support active participation in regional and international conferences, meetings, and workshops.
At the conclusion of the meeting, certificates were distributed to the participants, along with memorial shields granted to the delegations.