Saudi Arabia pledges Sh4bn in global fight against terror

The government of Saudi Arabia has made a commitment of over Sh4 billion (USD26.6 million) to the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) for use in the fight against terror among member countries.

Minister of Defence Prince Khalid bin Salman announced this during the second meeting of the IMCTC defence ministers themed "Fighting terrorism is a shared responsibility" in Riyadh on Saturday.

"This funding aims to support the Initiatives Fund, as well as to conduct 46 training programs for candidates from member states, for training in the field of coalition work, in addition to launching a special initiative titled, 'The Islamic Military Coalition Program to Combat Terrorism for the Sahel Countries'," said Prince Khalid.

Coalition's member states are looking into ways to collaborate to address terrorism by spreading the values of moderation and a rejection of violence and extremism, noting that the Islamic religion has a crucial role in combating extremism and terrorism to achieve global security and peace.

On the invitation of my counterpart, the Minister for Defence from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, I attended the 2nd Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) defence ministers meeting in the country’s capital, Riyath. pic.twitter.com/5Xl6b8QkSb

— Hon. Aden Duale, EGH (@HonAdenDuale) February 3, 2024

"The IMCTC countries are aware of the danger of terrorist groups and organisations, which are constantly seeking, through their capabilities and resources, to undermine security and hinder the development and construction movement in many countries of the world," he said.

The meeting discussed ways to strengthen the fight against terrorism, regional and international developments, defence and military cooperation in addition to strengthening strategic partnerships that contribute to achieving the goals of the coalition.

In attendance were defence ministers from 42 member states including Kenya's Aden Duale who was on his way to the United States for a four-day official visit.

Duale was accompanied by the Kenyan representative at the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) Colonel Aden Mohamed and Colonel Benson Njogu.

On the war in Gaza, the Prince called on member countries to adopt a united position and condemn the Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, in accordance with the decisions of the extraordinary joint Arab summit held in Riyadh on November 11, 2023.

IMCTC is an intergovernmental counter-terrorist military alliance with a joint operations centre in Riyadh.