NEW YORK — Saudi Arabia condemns terrorism in all its forms, manifestations and methods, which cannot be justified under any circumstances, regardless of their motivation and stated objective, said Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan on Monday. Participating virtually during the second UN high-level conference of heads of anti-terrorism agencies of member states here on Monday, the Saudi foreign minister expressed his pleasure to participate in the conference, noting that this year marks the tenth anniversary of the founding of the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre in 20011 with the active support of Saudi Arabia. He said that the center remains a vital and supportive partner of the UN system in combating terrorism. "Terrorism continues to pose a challenge to international peace and security and it requires the solidarity of the entire international community to combat it," Prince Faisal said urging all member states, regional and international organizations to implement the UN Global Counter-Terrorism strategy and the resolutions related to it. The Saudi foreign minister pointed out that the Kingdom is keen on taking all means of combating the financing of terrorism through the signing and ratification of many bilateral, regional and international conventions, and the strengthening of international legal cooperation in criminal matters related to terrorism and its financing. "Saudi Arabia's endeavor to combat terrorism was not only through traditional measures to combat terrorism but rather by addressing the crimes emanating from it in cyberspace through legal, technical and cognitive means," Prince Faisal said. "The National Cybersecurity Authority and the Intellectual Warfare Center are examples of national institutions competent to address the root causes of extremism and terrorism, as well as the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal), which counters extremist ideologies using new and innovative methods including by analyzing extremist narratives," he added. Prince Faisal referred to a memorandum of understanding signed in April this year between the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre and the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal), which reflects the Kingdom's methodology in supporting the international community's efforts to combat this scourge. He added that Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to promoting a culture of peace and dialogue and combating hatred, racism and exclusion, and this is clearly reflected through the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Global Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and the United Nations Initiative for the Alliance of Civilizations. Highlighting the role of the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre, Prince Faisal called for the support of the center's work, which seeks, in particular, to help build capacity for member states in implementing the UN Counter-Terrorism Strategy. "The Kingdom has suffered from terrorism, but it has managed to achieve decisive results in defeating it, and it is still continuing to take a number of necessary measures to combat this dangerous scourge at all national, regional and international levels, and is working to implement the provisions of international law and resolutions," he added.
