Maj-Gen Engineer Abdulaziz Abdullah al-Ansari, chairman of the National Counter-Terrorism Committee and director of the International Co-operation Department at the Ministry of Interior (MoI), participated in the soft launch of the International Hub on Behavioural Insights to Counter Terrorism, the MoI said on Twitter.

The event was organised by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) in collaboration with the State of Qatar on Monday.

Maj-Gen Engineer al-Ansari said the hub, which is the first of its kind in the world, is a product of an agreement signed between the UNOCT and Qatar on December 15, 2019, on the sidelines of the Doha Forum.

“The hub aims to conduct and develop research in the field of behavioural sciences to better understand the drivers and factors that contribute to 'radicalisation leading to violent extremism and terrorism'," he said. "It will also provide capacity-building assistance to member states, regional organisations and civil society partners to develop and implement programmes, projects and initiatives that integrate behavioural insights to counter-terrorism based on scientific foundations.

“The hub will benefit from the expertise of the local, international and regional actors in the field of counter-terrorism and enhancing co-operation with United Nations entities to co-ordinate regarding behavioural insights to counter-terrorism," he continued.

Maj-Gen Engineer al-Ansari asserted that Qatar spares no effort to actively participate in international and regional efforts to confront terrorism and violent extremism and address its roots by implementing the foundations of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.