A number of Arab, Muslim and world officials addressed here today the Counter-terrorism International Conference inaugurated by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard.
In his speech, U.N. Secretary General Envoy to the Conference and Executive Director for Combating Terrorism Javier Roberice thanked the Kingdom for holding this important conference to discuss the danger of terrorism and ways that should be pursued to combat it. He noted that terrorism is a danger threatening all civilized people, stressing that all religions forbid terrorism.
The U.N. Secretary General Envoy called for the refuting of the allegations of a few vicious people that Islam justifies the killing of innocents. He called on countries to confront these allegations aiming at defaming Islam. He said that he will announce in the near future a vision relating to a U.N. comprehensive strategy to combat terrorism.
For his part, Professor Akmaluddin Ihsan Ogli, the Secretary General of the Islamic Conference Organization, thanked the Kingdom for its valuable initiative to hold this conference for combating terrorism, stressing that the conference will greatly contribute to the world campaign to combat the phenomenon of terrorism that threatens, through its evils, all peoples and does not distinguish between peoples and religions. He indicated that Islam has been working on confronting the roots of terrorism and eliminating its possible political, economic or social sources, adding that the Organization has been in the forefront of mobilizing capabilities and efforts to combat terrorism through conferences and treaties.
Addressing the conference, the Secretary General of Arab League Amr Mousa expressed his appreciation of the Kingdom for this initiative to hold this international important conference to combat terrorism since terrorism is an international issue and a dangerous deviation which aims to terrify people's security, to threaten the stability of societies and to harm all noble values and bases of contacts and interaction among civilizations and cultures. He noted that the League will submit the conference two papers on international and regional cooperation to combat terrorism and relation between terrorism and organized crime in all its forms. Mousa praised the proposal of the Crown Prince for setting up up an international conference to combat terrorism, affirming the League's readiness to contribute to the establishment of this center and running aspects regarding the Middle East in the center.
In his speech, the Secretary General of Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Atiyyah called for approving the Crown Prince's address as an official document of the conference, expressing the GCC General Secretariat's support for the Crown Prince's proposal to set up an International Center for Combating Terrorism. Al-Atiyyah stressed that the conference embodies the Kingdom and GCC member states' inalienable stand on renouncing and condemning all forms and sources of terrorism.
In a similar speech, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulmohsin Al-Turki , the Secretary General of Muslim World League, expressed his appreciation of the Kingdom for the organization of this great event which demonstrates the Kingdom's Islamic and international position. He praised the Crown Prince's proposal for setting up an International Center for Combating terrorism. Dr. Al-Turki emphasized that terrorism is one of the greatest human crimes which Islam forbids, adding that the League has prepared an intensive world program to combat terrorism.
Then princes and heads of delegations greeted the Crown Prince who later graced a banquet on this occasion. The inaugural ceremony and the luncheon party were attended by a number of princes, ministers and officials.
The Crown Prince also separately received at his office at King Abdulaziz International Center of Conferences Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister and Head of his country's delegation to the Conference Sadiq Safoyev and the accompanying delegation and the Arab League Secretary General Amr Mousa. During the meetings, they discussed topics on the Conference's agenda. The audiences were attended by Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State, Member of the Cabinet and Chief of the Court of Cabinet's Presidency.
