Maqsood Krous, the Foreign Minister's envoy for counter-terrorism, led the UAE delegation at the 26th meeting of the Coordinating Committee of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum, along with its side sessions, held recently in Brussels.
The meeting sessions addressed the future direction of the Forum on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of its founding, providing member states with an opportunity to share views on how to ensure the Forum's effectiveness, including its internal structure, work streams, the impact of its outputs, and governance arrangements.
Discussions also covered the importance of unifying the efforts of states in the ninth United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy review, to be held during the fourth UN Counter-Terrorism Week at the end of June this year.
In his address, Maqsood Krous announced the UAE's pledge to provide financial support to the Forum of 500,000 euros for 2027, and annual financial support of 300,000 dollars beginning in 2028.
He further affirmed that the UAE is committed to strengthening international efforts to combat extremism and terrorism in all its forms within multilateral partnership frameworks, stressing the pressing need for cooperation among all states and UN organisations in confronting current global challenges related to countering extremism and terrorism.
These challenges include countering the financing of terrorist groups, rejecting radicalisation, combating extremist discourse and recruitment methods, and addressing the use of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence by extremist and terrorist groups.
The Forum's co-presidency, represented by the European Union and Egypt, commended the UAE's financial pledge and valued its supportive role in discussions on bolstering the efforts of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum, with a number of participating states also praising UAE support.