Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir affirmed that the contents of US President Donald Trump's speech before the Arab-Islamic-American Summit included key indicators of US policy toward the Middle East and the horizon of cooperation between the United States and the Arab and Islamic worlds to confront terrorism and extremism and build a better future for the people of the region and the peoples of the Islamic world. "The Arab-Islamic-American Summit is a pivotal point in the history of the world and opens a new chapter between the Arab and Islamic worlds on the one hand and the Western world and the US on the other, which will contribute to creating a partnership between the two worlds, to counter extremism and terrorism, and to maintain security, peace and stability in the region," he said at a joint press conference held here this evening with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that the contents of the speech by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the speeches of the leaders of the Arab and Muslim countries confirm the desire of all to fight the scourge of terrorism and extremism and build relations with the United States to ensure a better future for the region and the world at large. The Minister of Foreign Affairs said, "The Riyadh Declaration affirms the importance of confronting terrorism and the existence of a partnership between the United States and the Islamic world, and it also affirms that there is a movement to confront extremism and terrorist financing in order to build a better future for the peoples of the region and the world as the Arab-Islamic-American Summit launched an international and global center to counter extremism." He pointed out that GCC countries and the United States addressed the importance of intensifying Gulf cooperation in various fields in the face of terrorism and its financing, stopping aggressive information attacks in the field of information protection, in the field of ballistic missile defense, developing the capabilities of counterterrorism institutions and intensifying military exercises among these countries. Al-Jubeir explained that there are only two countries in the Islamic world that did not participate in the summit, namely Iran and Syria. He pointed out that these two countries do not respect the existence of international regimes, they practice racism, sectarianism and human rights violations, and they are sponsors of terrorism. Thus, it is impossible for them to have a role in such a summit and in building a partnership for the elimination of terrorism, stressing that if they wish to participate in such future summits, they must stop supporting terrorism and interfering in international affairs in the region. The minister thanked the US Secretary of State for his efforts in making this historic summit a success and for all the countries that participated in the summit for their attendance in and contribution to the summit. --More 22:51 LOCAL TIME 19:51 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1632570
