GCC, Belgium to cooperate in combating extremism, terrorism

Dirk Achten. (Courtesy photo)

RIYADH: A visiting Belgian delegation held talks with senior officials from the Kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) secretariat on combating terrorism and extremism.
Dirk Achten, vice-minister and secretary-general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, the head of a nine-member team visiting the capital, held talks on Monday with Abdel Aziz Abu Hamad Aluwaisheg, assistant secretary-general for political and negotiations affairs at the GCC.
Belgian Ambassador Geert Criel also participated in the meetings with GCC and other Saudi officials.
The meeting held at the Secretariat General of the GCC was co-chaired by Aluwaisheg and the visiting Belgian minister.
During the meeting, the two parties reviewed relations between the two sides and discussed the latest developments in the region. They also discussed ways of combating terrorism and extremism, in addition to the efforts made by the two parties in this direction.
Speaking to Arab News following the meeting, Aluwaisheg said: “During the meeting with Achten, we discussed modalities for GCC-Belgian cooperation in all fields — political, economic and people-to-people. We then focused on combating terrorism and extremism. We agreed to cooperate on countering radicalization, terrorist recruitment and messaging, as well tracking and disrupting terrorism financing.”
“We will be developing exact mechanisms for such engagement over the next weeks,” Aluwaisheg concluded.
Ambassador Criel told Arab News that the vice minister had a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a number of officials, discussing bilateral issues of mutual concerns and regional questions.
The envoy said that the visit was more concentrated on combating extremism since Belgium is already cooperating with the Kingdom in the fight against terrorism. The delegation wanted to exchange experiences in the field of combating extremism and wants to learn from the Kingdom’s experiences, Criel added.
He added: “We discussed cooperation in the field in the fight against terrorism and extremism with the officials of the Ministry of Interior and the GCC secretariat. We also visited the Prince Mohamed bin Naif Center for Counseling and Care, where we had very useful and instructive discussions.”
The Mohamed bin Naif Center for Counseling and Care is fully dedicated to a society that is marked by moderation in both thoughts and behavior. Being envisioned to protect community against immoderate thoughts, the center conducts scientific and practical correctional rehabilitation programs to reform youths that fell victim to such thoughts.