Qatar has renewed its call for strengthening co-operation at the international, regional and national levels to combat terrorism and expressed the hope of finding bilateral and multilateral agreements and confronting the most important challenges facing international co-operation in this regard.
This came in a statement delivered by HE Major General Abdul Aziz al-Ansari, director of International Co-operation Department and chairman of National Counter-Terrorism Committee and head of Qatar’s delegation to the High-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies in the United Nations (UN) Member States, which began its work on Thursday at UN headquarters in New York.
At the first session on Opportunities and Challenges for Enhancing International Co-operation through Information Exchange, Major General al-Ansari said that since the adoption of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), which requested member-states to exchange information in accordance with international and national laws and bilateral and multilateral co-operation, Qatar implemented the content of the resolution and subsequent resolutions through closer co-operation and exchange of information with brotherly and friendly countries and international organisations.
In this context, he pointed out to the co-operation of Qatar with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committees and its subcommittees, including Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee under the relevant Security Council resolutions, and the Counter-Terrorism Committee established by Security Council resolution 1373 and its Executive Directorate.
“Qatar had facilitated the urgent exchange of information in the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) in accordance with the methods of a special tribunal in light of the diversity and expansion of the activities of terrorist groups.
“At the regional level, Qatar, through the League of Arab States and the Gulf Co-operation Council, has been keen to exchange information as quickly as possible with sister countries to prevent terrorists from obtaining safe places,” HE al-Ansari said.
On the bilateral level, the chairman of the National Counterterrorism Committee said that Qatar has signed a number of agreements, memorandums of understanding and bilateral letters of intent with friendly countries to enhance the exchange of information on counterterrorism and terrorists and the use of specialised programmes in the pursuit of terrorists.
The senior official hoped that agreement would be reached on the importance of concerted efforts among all members to address the most important challenges facing international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
HE al-Ansari also stressed the importance of bilateral and multilateral agreements, as well as co-operating with countries and organisations that have databases to create a network of information shared by everyone in order to expedite the dissemination of information and the prosecution of foreign fighters wherever they are and reduce their risk.
