Chairman Joint Chief of Staff, Lt Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza met with the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) Secretary General, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Al-Moghedi, on the sideline of the Second Meeting of IMCTC Chiefs of Staff of member states, supporting nations and explored areas of cooperation between the two sides across counterterrorism domains.
The Second Meeting of Chiefs of Staff from both Member States and Supporting Nations was chaired by HE, Chief of General Staff of the Saudi Armed Forces, Gen. Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili. It was held on December 13, 2023.
The meeting overviewed IMCTC’s strategy, key achievements and initiatives that address terrorism across IMCTC four counterterrorism domains, namely ideology, communications, counter terrorist financing and military.
The meeting also discussed initiatives’ objectives, their role in helping member countries in countering terrorism, rejection of violence and extremism.
HE, the Chief of Staff of the Saudi Armed Forces, the Meeting Chairman, stressed that the convening of the meeting comes in preparation for the next IMCTC Defense Ministers Council Meeting set to be held in February 2024, to be presided over by HRH, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense and Chairman of IMCTC Defense Ministers Council.
Meanwhile, IMCTC Secretary General, Maj. Gen. Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Moghedi, pointed out that IMCTC’s initiatives reflect the needs of its member states that submitted them. Then all these initiatives have been screened, analyzed in accordance with IMCTC’s governance and international laws in order to realize the intended objective of these initiatives that directly serve member countries’ interests that face the threat of terrorism.
He further added that total number of initiatives’ requests made by member countries exceeded 60 requests as submitted by Member countries’ delegates.
Saudi Arabia Leads Muslim Counterterrorism Coalition
In December 2015, Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, established the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC). This initiative aimed to unite Muslim countries in a coordinated effort against terrorism.
At their inaugural meeting in March 2016, Chiefs of Staff from participating nations affirmed their commitment to intensified counterterrorism collaboration. They stressed that participation in IMCTC initiatives and programs would be voluntary, based on individual capabilities and willingness, while respecting each country’s policies and sovereignty. Additionally, they emphasized the importance of officially launching the Coalition at a meeting of member countries’ Defense Ministers.
December 14, 2023
Source: IMCTC