Journalists at the media center on the eve of the anti-terror conference. (AN photo by Iqbal Hussain)

RIYADH, 5 February 2005 — Crown Prince Abdullah will inaugurate here today the first ever global anti-terrorism conference organized by the Kingdom.

Foreign delegations as well as speakers participating in the event arrived in the capital from 50 Asian, Arab, and Western countries. Several international organizations such as the Interpol will also be participating in the four-day event.

Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the conference will host many workshops. Key speakers will be addressing several issues such as the roots of terrorism, money laundering, strengthening international cooperation in the fight on terror, and learning from other countries’ experience in dealing with terrorism as well as sharing information and intelligence.

Interior Minister Prince Naif, who is the conference chairman, is expected to address the conference tomorrow morning, starting off Sunday’s session. Prince Muhammad ibn Naif, deputy minister for security affairs at the Ministry of Interior, will head Saudi Arabia’s delegation to the conference.

Though the number of participants in each delegation is limited to five, Arab News learned that the US team could be as large as 20. Most participants are experts in the field of combating terrorism and will share information and ideas with other delegations.

Four workshops will be held today at the King Faisal Conference Hall of the Intercontinental Hotel. Delegates from Egypt, Japan, Germany and Turkey will participate in the first workshop entitled, “Roots of Terrorist Thought”. Delegates from Saudi Arabia, the United States and Singapore will address a second workshop entitled “Link Between Terrorism and Money Laundering, Arms and Drug Trafficking”.

There will be a third workshop on “Counterterrorism Experiences of Different Countries”. Delegates from France, India and China will participate in that workshop as well as the fourth on “Terrorist Organizations and Formations”.

The organizing committee yesterday asked delegates to present their papers ahead of today’s events.

Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League, said in a statement that the conference was important because it “deals with the dangerous phenomenon that threatens societies and people all over the world.”

He said he would be participating in the conference, which he described as a “chance for security officials in Saudi Arabia and their Arab and Western counterparts to discuss ways to reinforce regional and international cooperation to combat this phenomenon.”

Minister of Culture and Information Fouad Al-Farsy visited the media center at the Marriot Hotel to inspect preparations to ensure that journalists carry out their task with ease. He said the global meet illustrates the international community’s cooperation in combating terrorism.

Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Prince Turki ibn Sultan, who also visited the center, commented on the terrorist attacks in the Kingdom over the past two years, saying, “those who committed these acts are not human and, above all, our religion condemns such acts.”