Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry reviewed in his speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, on Saturday, Egyptian efforts in countering terrorism, and Egypt’s view for activating international cooperation in order to confront this phenomenon, according to a statement from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abou Zaid.
Shoukry, who was the speaker at the session on countering terrorism entitled Jihadism After the Caliphate, said that the time of the Islamic State group (IS)’s rule is far from the noble idea of jihad and its positive meanings, stressing that it is impossible to link the terror group to the age of the Islamic Caliphate which “lit the way for the humanity.”
According to the statement, Shoukry stressed that the victory over IS is not the end, but a very important step towards confronting the threat of all terror groups. He added that all terror groups derive their deviant thoughts from the same ideology.
Shoukry also reviewed Egypt’s experience in countering terrorism, pointing to the current extensive military operation, Sinai 2018, as well as Egyptian steps in confronting terrorism through a plan that consists of security, military, ideological, social, and economic aspects.
The minister addressed the need for exerting greater efforts for countering terrorism and its funding. He also stressed the importance of holding the countries that provide funds to terror groups or host terrorists accountable.
According to the statement, Shoukry believes that one of the points of weakness that hinder international efforts in countering terrorism is the wide definition of terrorism or using some unspecific terms such as “violent extremism.”
