His Excellency the Secretary-General of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal), Dr. Mansour Al-Shammari, received a delegation from the United Nations Center for Counter-Terrorism (UNCCT) headed by the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Counter-Terrorism, and the Executive Director of the United Nations Center for Counter-Terrorism, Mr. Vladimir Voronkov. The two sides discussed ways to develop cooperation in preventing and combating terrorism and violent extremism on December 13, 2022.
During the visit, the delegation learned about the monitoring and analysis mechanism, the models that are built and developed within Etidal, the most advanced technologies in this field, and briefed on a detailed explanation about the center’s efforts in combating extremist ideology and its societal initiatives.
At the end of the visit, the guests took photos with His Excellency the Secretary-General of the Center, Dr. Mansour Al-Shammari, and His Excellency presented a souvenir to the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Counter-Terrorism and the Executive Director of the United Nations Center for Counter-Terrorism, Mr. Vladimir Voronkov.
The Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Counter-Terrorism and the Executive Director of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Center, Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, stated:, “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a pioneer in the field of combating extremism at the local and global levels, and will continue its pioneering efforts in this regard in the coming period because extremism is a threat, in addition it has a great capabilities in the field of countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism, and Etidal is one of the excellent examples in this regard.
Mr. Voronkov stressed, “No country is immune from terrorism, so international cooperation is an important factor for success in this matter, and this region is very important to us, in addition to the importance of cooperation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, so we intend to establish cooperation with the Kingdom and in the entire region.”
The Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Counter-Terrorism and the Executive Director of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Center, Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, concluded his statement by emphasizing that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an example to follow in the field of combating terrorism.
The Deputy Under-Secretary-General and Director of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, Rafi Grigorian said during his visit to (Etidal), “It is really great to be here in person and I am really excited about the things I learned today about the ways in which we can take cooperation to the next level, and helping many other member states deal with these problems in a way that makes experience here possible.”
The Director of the United Nations Center for Counter-Terrorism (UNCCT) Jahangir Khan said, “Actually, this is my fourth visit and it’s quite impressive, and it’s clear that (Etidal) is at the frontline on both sides in terms of research and development, and most importantly the practical side efforts to prevent violent extremism.” Especially by promoting positive discourses that will work to combat extremist ideologies and extremist content, especially on the Internet.”
Regarding the memorandum of understanding between Etidal and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Center, Khan said, “We are working on developing cooperation programs that will have a global aspect, especially in the most important matters such as research and development, and we are very much looking forward to developing more programs in this memorandum of understanding.”
The Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal) and the United Nations Center for Counter-Terrorism (UNCCT) had previously concluded a joint memorandum of understanding between the two sides on the first of (April) 2021 to enhance cooperation in preventing and combating terrorism and violent extremism, supporting the efforts of the international community in addressing terrorism and preventing the spread of extremist ideology.
