Dr. Mansour Al-Shammari, Secretary General of the Etidal Global Center to Combat Extremist Ideology, today received at the Center’s headquarters in Riyadh a delegation from the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Center (UNCTC), led by the United Nations Secretary-General for Combating terrorism, Executive Director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Center Vladimir Voronkov.
During the meeting, the parties discussed ways to develop joint cooperation in the field of preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism.
During the visit, the delegation got acquainted with the mechanism of monitoring and analysis, models that are built and developed within the framework of (Etidal), and the most advanced technologies in this area, after listening to a detailed explanation of the center’s efforts to combat extremist ideology and its public initiatives.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism, Executive Director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Center Vladimir Voronkov said: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a pioneer in the fight against extremism at the local and global levels, and it will continue its pioneering efforts in this regard in the coming period, because extremism is a constant threat. In addition to having a huge capacity in the field of countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism, Etidal Center is one of the finest examples in this regard in addressing this complex issue, its effective control and prevention.
He added: “No country is immune from terrorism, so international cooperation is an important success factor in this matter, and this region is very important to us, in addition to the importance of cooperation with the Kingdom, so we intend to establish cooperation.” with the Kingdom and throughout the region”, emphasizing at the end of his speech that the Kingdom is a role model in the field of combating terrorism.
For his part, Rafi Grigoryan, Deputy Under-Secretary-General and Director of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, said during the visit: “It is really great to be here in person and very excited about some of the things we have learned today. about how we can take cooperation to the next level and help. Many other Member States are trying to solve these problems in such a way that the experience here is possible.”
In turn, Director of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Center (UNCCT) Jahangir Khan stressed that (Etidal) is at the forefront on both sides, in terms of research and development, and most importantly the efforts of the practical side. to prevent violent extremism, especially by promoting positive discourses that will work to combat extremist ideologies and extremist content, especially online.
Regarding the memorandum of understanding between the Center (Etidal) and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Center, Khan said: “We are working to develop cooperation programs that will have a global dimension and a global dimension, especially in important issues such as the quality of research and development, and we very much look forward to developing additional programs under this memorandum of understanding.”
Notably, both the Global Center to Combat Extremist Ideology (Etidal) and the United Nations Counter Terrorism Center (UNCCT) previously entered into a joint memorandum of understanding between the two parties on the first (April) 2021 AD; Strengthen cooperation in preventing and combating terrorism and violent extremism, and support the efforts of the international community to combat the scourge of terrorism and prevent the spread of extremist ideas.
At the end of the visit, commemorative photographs were taken, and Al-Shammari presented a shield (Etidal) as a souvenir to the UN Under-Secretary-General for Combating Terrorism, Executive Director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office. Center.
