The Council of Defense Ministers of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) held its second meeting in Riyadh today, in response to a kind invitation from His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Salman, Minister of Defense and Chairman of the Coalition. The slogan for the meeting was: “Fighting terrorism is a shared responsibility.”
During the meeting, Saudi Arabia committed 100 million riyals in support for the Islamic Coalition Initiatives Fund. His Highness also announced the Kingdom’s support for 46 training programs within relevant fields of work.
During the meeting, Defense Ministers emphasized the need for a unified position among member states in condemning the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Ministers also expressed keenness to launch the Coalition’s work to protect the security of member states and promote the safety of their people.
A joint statement issued at the close of the meeting highlighted progress achieved thus far and confirmed plans for coordinated efforts to combat and eliminate all forms of terrorism through organized collective action and comprehensive planning. These efforts will be implemented in alignment with the Coalition’s key thematic areas of work: intellectual/academic, media, combating financing for terrorism, and the military.
The statement explained that the Coalition’s methodology and initiatives were designed based on member states’ needs. Member states also agreed to launch a fund to finance Coalition initiatives, based on financial contributions from member states and international organizations working towards combating terrorism.
The joint statement noted that the meeting achieved an important consensus among member states regarding the Coalition’s vision to combat terrorism. It also recognized the Coalition’s success in bringing together friendly, supportive countries and international organizations concerned with combating terrorism, based on respect for the principles of international legitimacy. It welcomed the possibility of additional countries joining the Coalition in the future.
At the conclusion of the statement, participating ministers expressed their deep thanks and appreciation to the countries that contributed to supporting the Initiatives Finance Fund, and reiterated their thanks regarding the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in forming and supporting this Coalition’s continued efforts. Member states also thanked the Kingdom for hosting the second meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Coalition countries. They expressed their thanks and gratitude to His Royal Highness, Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for all the efforts that went into the meeting’s success and for the positive results it achieved.
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