Minister of Defence and National Security Adam Shareef Umar has participated at the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) meeting held in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Defence Minister Adam Shareef Umar was accompanied by Director General of National Counter Terrorism Centre Brigadier General Zakariyya Mansoor and Deputy Director General of Department of International Defence Corporation and Policy Colonel Abdul Matheen Ahmed.
Minister of Defence and National Security Adam Shareef Umar presented national policies in countering acts of terrorism at the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) meeting and sought partnership with other countries in its efforts to counter terrorism.
During the meeting, Ministers underlined the importance of joint efforts, concerted collective actions, and comprehensive strategic planning to deal with the threat of terrorism, and put an end to those who seek to fuel conflicts and sectarianism, and spread chaos, strife and unrest within their countries.
Concluding the meeting, the Defence Ministers of the IMCTC emphasised on the resolve of their own countries to coordinate and unite their efforts, to ward off the dangers of terrorism and take a stand against it. The Ministers stressed on the importance of investing in digital media platforms to raise awareness among members of society and prevent them from succumbing to terrorist messaging.
Furthermore, the Ministers agreed to redouble efforts to promote joint action in operations, programmes and initiatives within the framework of IMCTC; and in line with the organisational structure and mechanisms of the coalition.
The gathering of Ministers and leading security officials from the 41 countries in the coalition focused attention on counter-terrorism cooperation through the new Riyadh-based operations centre.
This was the first ever meeting of the Defense Ministers of IMCTC and was held under the theme, “Allied against Terrorism”. The coalition was established to provide an institutional platform for proposals and discussions in order to facilitate ways of cooperation among member states and countries supporting initiatives within framework of fields of military, intellectual, media and combating terrorism financing.
Maldives assures that it would unite with Arab nations to solidify the nation's efforts of countering acts of extremism. In February 5, 2016, President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom established the National Counter Terrorism Centre to eliminate all acts and thoughts of terrorism and extremism in Maldives.