Lieutenant General Saif Abdullah Al Shafar, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, opened the deliberations of the 5th regional field meeting “Project Al Qabdah Counterterrorism for the Middle East and North Africa,” Tuesday morning at Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, Abu Dhabi. This regional meeting is organized by the UAE Ministry of Interior. The 2-day meeting will host 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.
The opening was attended by Major General Obeid Al Hairi Al Ketbi, Deputy General Commander of Abu Dhabi Police; Major General Hamid Mohammed Al Hadidi, Commander in Chief of Sharjah Police; Major General Mohammed Al Awadi Al Menhali, Director General of Police Operations at Abu Dhabi Police; Director Generals; Colonel Haza bin Mubarak Al Hajiri, GCC Assistant Secretary-General for Security Affairs; INTERPOL Executive Director of Police Services, Jean-Michel Louboutin; and a number of high ranking officers from the Ministry of Interior.
Lieutenant General Saif Al Shafar delivered a speech in which he extended greetings and well wishes of success from Lt. General H.H. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior to all participants in the meeting. He also acknowledged the large number of countries participating in the distinguished meeting, which is indicative of the interest these countries are showing to fight terrorism; a threat to security and stability to all countries across the globe.
“The regional and international challenges, along with the current situations the world is witnessing and the change in types and methods of crimes in general and terrorism in particular, has led to a heavier burden on security and police forces. This increasing burden requires further cooperation and collaboration among MENA countries to stop terrorist acts, in addition to enhancing international relations among anti-terrorism forces through security strategies and executive policies,” he said.
“The UAE has realized the importance of fighting all forms of terrorism to guarantee the gift of safety and security, which citizens and residents are enjoying in this country. The UAE has formed the National Anti-Terror Committee according to the Federal Law No 1/2004 in order to fight terrorism. The nation has also joined all international agreements and conventions related to fighting this serious issue that threatens the security and stability of the entire world. Regionally speaking, the UAE has approved many agreements and conventions regarding anti-terrorism, such as the Arab Anti-Terrorism Agreement and the Convention of the Organization of the Islamic Conference on Combating International Terrorism. Thus, the country supports all initiatives that aim to set up a comprehensive international anti-terrorism convention according to a clear international definition of the term ‘terrorism,’” he added.
Al Shafar explained that MENA countries have suffered from terrorism and are suffering more in the recent times, as this issue has become a serious problem that weighs on law enforcement bodies in the region.
“The dangers of terrorism have grown significantly during the last decade as terrorist attacks are executed in a very accurate and sophisticated manner using high technology. Losses, whether in souls, properties, or facilities are great and are almost comparable to losses during wartime. This fact brings into view the need to gather together regional and international efforts to contain and fight terrorism t