Arab Parliament President Adel bin Abdulrahman Al-Asoumi has confirmed that the fight against terrorism and extremist ideology is the top priority for the parliament.
Al-Asoumi also said that it was at the top of the issues he discussed with the Supreme Leaders of the Inter-Parliamentary Union during his recent visit to Geneva.
The Arab Parliament President’s remarks came during speech at the first meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee in the Arab Parliament. The committee held a joint meeting with Chairperson of the High Level Advisory Group on Counter-Terrorism at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Reinhold Lopatka.
The joint meeting with Lopatka represents an important step towards strengthening cooperation between the Arab Parliament and the IPU in this field, Al-Assoumi said.
He added that the Arab Parliament is keen to establish this partnership through the signing of a protocol for joint co-operation between the two sides.
For his part, Lopatka said there are many issues and initiatives through which co-operation with the Arab Parliament can be strengthened. Foremost of these are the mechanisms for immunising young people from extremist ideology
He added that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated the challenges that countries face in combating terrorism. He stressed the importance for the Arab Parliament to have an active presence in all activities organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union regarding combating terrorism.
He referred, in this regard, to the World Summit on Combating Terrorism, which will be held next September 2021 in Geneva.
