Forty-three countries and several international organizations will attend the first global anti-terror conference in Riyadh from Feb. 5-8, a senior Foreign Ministry official said. "We have invited all countries that have suffered from terrorism to the conference and all have agreed to take part," said Prince Turki bin Mohammad, Assistant Under Secretary for Political Affairs at the ministry, Al-Riyadh Arabic daily reported. The conference aims at exchanging information and experience and fostering cooperation in the fight against terrorism. It will also address measures to help tackle money laundering as well as drug and arms smuggling. Prince Turki bin Mohammad said Israel's obstinacy in dealing with the Palestinian issue as well as the international community's apathy to the issue had contributed to the spread of violence and terrorism in the Middle East. He said the international community had begun recognizing Saudi Arabia's firm stand against terrorism and had commended its efforts in combating terrorism at both national and international levels. --MORE 1135 Local Time 0835 GMT
