Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Wednesday that global counterterrorism efforts must address and uproot the extremist and inflammatory ideologies that constitute the foundation for terrorist groups.
Shoukry made these remarks while participating in the 13th Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), which he co-chaired with the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, in New York.
According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, the Global Counterterrorism Forum is an essential platform for multilateral cooperation, allowing countries to exchange experiences and best practices in countering terrorism and extremism.
The forum was held alongside the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 78).
Shoukry began by highlighting the ongoing suffering of people in some nations due to the threat of terrorism and its evolving tactics.
He stressed the necessity of developing innovative countermeasures to keep pace with these organizations’ changing methods of operation while drying up their funding sources.
The Egyptian foreign minister also stressed the need to avoid past mistakes that provided safe havens for terrorist organizations and facilitated the movement of their members to other regions, leading to the proliferation of foreign fighters.
Furthermore, Shoukry emphasized Egypt’s adoption of a comprehensive national strategy to counter terrorism that considers the security, economic, and social dimensions of the phenomenon of terrorism.
He also highlighted Egypt’s long-standing awareness of the importance of rehabilitating and reintegrating former terrorists into society.
To demonstrate Egypt’s efforts in that direction, the Egyptian foreign minister pointed to the positive results achieved by the Egyptian Dar al-Iftaa’s 2017 project, “Anatomy of the Mind of the Extremist,” in combatting extremist ideologies, discourses, and ideas by using genuine Islamic sources to help former terrorists discover the pitfalls and shortcomings that characterize radical and fundamentalist discourse.
Moreover, Shoukry stressed the significance of regional cooperation among African countries, highlighting the role played by the Cairo Regional Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding in providing capacity-building programs for African nations.
In May, Egypt officially assumed the co-chairmanship of the GCTF with the European Union (EU).
During its co-presidency of the forum, Egypt aspires to bolster its support for countries in implementing the UN Counterterrorism Strategy, enhancing national capacities, and garnering international political support to ensure the success of related endeavours.
Source: English Ahram
