RIYADH: The International Scientific Forum, held by the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior, anti-terrorism officials from the United Nations, the US International Center to Fight Terrorism and the German Foreign Ministry, opens Monday in Riyadh under the title, “The Role of the Internet in Fighting Terrorism and Extremism”. The three-day forum, backed by Prince Muhammad Bin Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs, will see the involvement of anti-terrorism experts from over 30 countries, as well as the secretariat general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the European Union, and Russia. Prince Muhammad Bin Naif said that the Kingdom has considerable experience in fighting terrorism, with great dependence on “social and intellectual combat”, as well as practical and preemptive combat. “The success we have had has been the result of the prudent orders from the leadership of the Kingdom, as well as the awareness of the Saudi people and the efforts of the security forces,” Prince Muhammad said. “The Kingdom shares with the rest of the world the importance of international cooperation to put an end to terrorism and prevent it increasing.” Abdul Aziz Al-Ghamdi, President of the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, said the university was fully aware of the threat terrorism poses to the security of the public, the state and sustainable development, and that the university has held forums along with theoretical and practical training programs to address the issue “in all its dimensions”. “This international scientific conference continues in the context of the resolute work of the university to put an end to terrorism,” he said. The conference aims to increase awareness in the Arab world and internationally of the threat posed by terrorism and extremism through the Internet, to learn from the experience of others working in the field, and improve Arab and international cooperation in the fight against terrorism by unifying efforts in the use of the Internet to combat terrorism and extremism. The gathering will hear work papers on five main central themes: Internet use for the purposes of terrorism; fighting the recruitment to and promotion of extremist ideology on the Internet; national and regional experience; the role of civil society, the private sector and the media in combating terrorism, and a future view of terrorism on the Internet.
