RIYADH — Prince Khalid bin Salman, minister of defense and chairman of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC), announced Saudi Arabia's commitment of SR100 million ($26.6 million) in support of the coalition. He said this while inaugurating the second meeting of the IMCTC defense ministers in Riyadh on Saturday. Ministers of defense from 42 member states and three supporting countries attended the meeting under the slogan "Fighting terrorism is a shared responsibility." In his opening speech, Prince Khalid, chairman of the council, thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman for the Kingdom's support for the Fund for Financing Initiatives of IMCTC, saying that this confirms the Kingdom's approach and commitment to spreading the values of moderation and reject violence and extremism. The minister stressed the role of the message of the Islamic religion in combating extremism and terrorism so as to achieve global security and peace. "This funding aims to support the Initiatives Fund, as well as to conduct 46 training programs for candidates from member states, for training in the field of coalition work, in addition to launching a special initiative titled "The Islamic Military Coalition Program to Combat Terrorism for the Sahel Countries." Prince Khalid bin Salman expressed his aspiration for the contribution of member states in supporting the Fund for Financing Initiatives and providing training programs, which will help achieve the objectives of the IMCTC in accordance with its governance. "The IMCTC countries are aware of the danger of terrorist groups and organizations, which are constantly seeking, through their capabilities and resources, to undermine security and hinder the development and construction movement in many countries of the world," he said while emphasizing the coalition's endeavor to contribute to the fight against terrorism, by coordinating efforts and launching joint initiatives, according to a clear methodology, which is prepared, with the participation of representatives of member states, for the coming three years." Prince Khalid pointed out that the aspirations of the IMCTC require concerted efforts, in addition to integration, cooperation and partnership between member states, various countries of the world and international bodies. "This approach will be able to achieve the hopes and aspirations of leaders and peoples, in combating terrorism intellectually and militarily, and drying up its sources of funding," he said. Referring to the Israeli aggression on Gaza, he stressed that this requires a unified position by members of the coalition to condemn Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, in accordance with the decisions of the extraordinary joint Arab summit, which was held in Riyadh on November 11, 2023. The meeting of defense ministers discussed ways to strengthen the fight against terrorism, in addition to strengthening the efforts made in this regard through strategic partnerships that contribute to achieving all the goals of the coalition. On the sidelines of the meeting, Prince Khalid met with Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Acting Minister of the Interior Sheikh Fahd Yousef Saud Al-Sabah, Libya's Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba, and Defense Minister of Djibouti Hassan Omar Burhan, Defense Minister of Sudan Yassin Abdul Hadi, and Mauritanian Defense Minister Hanna Ould Sidi. They discussed regional and international developments, issues of common interest, and defense and military cooperation. It is noteworthy that the IMCTC is an intergovernmental counter-terrorist military alliance, which consists of 41 Muslim countries, united around the war against ISIS and other counter-terrorist activities. It was established by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman while he was the minister of defense in December 2015. The alliance was to have a joint operations center in Riyadh
