Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — Invigorated by the address of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, Arab interior ministers at their conference here Wednesday decided on a joint strategy to tackle the menace of terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking. In his speech, read out by Prince Muhammad Bin Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Interior Minister, King Abdullah called for identifying the main security issues and sought “cooperation between the people and security forces to face the many dangerous challenges facing the Arab World and threatening its security.” The King also emphasized to correctly identify the challenges for Arab security before chalking out a comprehensive security vision characterized by political wisdom. “There are many serious challenges facing the Arab nation and threatening its security, as well as its developmental, cultural, and humanitarian progress. We have confidence in Allah Almighty as well as in the consciousness of our peoples, and the sincerity of officials in charge of security of our homelands that we will maintain our Arab security,” the King said. The King noted that Saudi Arabia was working hard to promote Arab security cooperation. “To achieve this, the Kingdom has adopted several security initiatives, ratified a number of conventions and strategies in this regard,” he added. The conference rejected all external attempts to undermine the security of any Arab state. It also condemned Iran's logistic support to the acts of terror in Bahrain and Yemen. The ministers decided to institute an Arab Prize named after the late Crown Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz and commended the constructive role being played by Saudi Arabia in strengthening Arab joint work. The conference denounced all forms of terrorism and terror funding. The ministers urged all countries to abide by the decisions taken by the UN Security Council in this regard. The meeting commended the efforts of Arab security mechanism in combating terror and dismantling its networks by taking advantage of the successful experiments carried out by several countries. The statement specially noted the Saudi efforts in combating extremist ideology, especially through the efforts of the Prince Muhammad Bin Naif Center for Counseling and Care. The ministers welcomed the opening of King Abdullah Center for Interfaith Dialogue in Vienna, and Iraq's call for holding a special conference on terror. Earlier, in his opening remarks, Mohammed Kuman, Secretary General of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, stressed the need to confront the spread of extremism through social media networks with their own cyber know-how. He told the meeting that “extremist thought... on social networks has resulted in a major increase in terrorist acts, political assassinations and sectarian conflicts.” Kuman said: “As it has become impossible to control the content of social networks, it is important to produce counter-speech.” “Ideas can only be fought by ideas,” he said. In addition to interior ministers from 21 Arab states, representatives of the United Nations, Arab League, Gulf Cooperation Council, Arab Maghreb Union, Naif Arab University for Security Sciences and Arab Police Sports Federation also attended the meeting.
