Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe hosted on Saturday an international conference on regional and international cooperation in counter-terrorism and its financing through drug trafficking and organised crime.

The conference was held in cooperation with Qatar, the UN, the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Qatar’s delegation was led by Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Counterterrorism and Mediation of Conflict Resolution HE Dr Mutlaq bin Majid al Qahtani.

Tajikistan, in cooperation with Qatar, UN, EU, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe hosted an international conference on regional and international cooperation in counter-terrorism and its financing through drug trafficking and organized crime. #QNA pic.twitter.com/YUT434dyuw

— Qatar News Agency (@QNAEnglish) May 18, 2019

The envoy said the conference was proof of the strong and strategic partnerships Qatar has in thefield of countering terrorism and its financing.

He said terrorism and its financing represent a grave threat to international peace and security.

“The international community has a collective responsibility to counter terrorism and its financing in line with international law and UN Security Council resolution number 2467, which calls on all countries to prevent terrorist acts and bans the provision of all support to people or organisation involved in terrorist attacks,” he said.

He stressed that combating the financing of terrorism remains one of the most important priorities for Qatar, highlighting the legislation that the country adopted in this regard. He added that the country has also ratified the majority of international and regional counter-terrorism agreements, and established national mechanisms in the fields of counter-terrorism in line with UN Security Council resolutions.

“Qatar is working closely with the designated UN agencies. The country has recently contributed $75 million to the UN Counter-Terrorism Office in support of its mission and goals over the next five years,” he said.

He noted that an important issue to focus on in the conference is the adverse impact regional conflicts have on advancing joint efforts in the field. Wars and conflicts became important elements feeding terrorism and extremism.

He gave an example with the armed conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, which led to the undermining of group efforts in combating terrorism and ultimately to weakening the border security of those countries.

He highlighted the potential of using the war zones not just for drug trafficking, but for illegal arms dealing that would include the components for weapons of mass destruction. He said that Qatar has expressed its concern over the danger the lack of cooperation regionally poses to resolving these threats.

He added that the international community cannot just stand helpless as some countries interfere in the internal affairs of others, in clear violation to the sovereignty of these countries.

 

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Source: QNA