Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, current head of the Peace and Security Council in the African Union, chaired on Monday a session on combating extreme thoughts and terrorism via video conference.
Minister Shoukry made it clear that the Peace and Security Council’s handling of combating extremism and terrorist financing is consistent with the outcome of the council’s summit meeting on 27 January 2018, chaired by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
The session emphasized the importance of preparing national strategies to combat extreme thought. In this regard, Minister Shouky pointed to President Al-Sisi’s initiative to renew the religious discourse in line with the developments of the world.
Shoukry stressed that African states should cooperate with regional and international institutions in order to address growing relations between the financing of terrorism and other financial crimes.
This is in light of the increasing capacity of terrorist groups to mobilize funding and transfer of funds across borders and establish relationships with organized crime groups.
In this context, he noted that Egypt adopted a comprehensive legislative and organizational framework to combat terrorism through undermining the activities of terrorist groups in Egypt.
In this context, he referred to Al-Azhar Observatory to Combat Radical Thought, Money Laundering, and Terrorism, which provides technical support for African countries to stop terrorist financing.
He called for the need to intensify the exchange of visions and coordination among African countries in this regard, as any cross-border phenomena require collective solutions in order to build a safe, stable, and flourishing community.
