Terrorism ‘common threat’ that should be fought collectively by Arab states

DEAD SEA — Terrorism was featured high on the agenda of the 28th Arab summit, as leaders said this phenomenon strikes Arabs and Muslims the most and requires collective international efforts.

In addition to war on terrorism, the 28th Arab summit's agenda included the Palestinian issue, the situation in Syria and pan-Arab cooperation.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi noted that the scope and magnitude of terrorism has increased, threatening the lives of millions of people in the region and throughout the world. 

"Terrorism has become a global phenomenon that one …cannot accept under any circumstances or justification," he underlined. 

"The stronger the terrorism, the weaker the country, and vice versa. This requires that we work on two parallel tracks simultaneously: fight terrorism with all our power, and address regional crises," he said. 

The Egyptian president stressed that combating terrorism was "no easy task", and required military capabilities, economic empowerment and awareness efforts to convince people to renounce terrorist and extremist ideologies. 

Meanwhile, Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said that terrorism and extremism were considered the most critical issues facing Arab countries these days, calling for unifying efforts to combat them at all levels. 

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said the state of "loss"  the region is facing attracted terrorist groups which made use of the unstable conditions of some Arab states.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said several conflicts in the region, including those in Syria and Iraq, resulted in tremendous suffering, displacement of millions of people, and destabilisation of the entire region, as well as contributing to the new threat of "global terrorism".

"They have consumed countless lives and much of our attention," he said.

Meanwhile, he drew a connection between terrorism and the false representation of Islam (see story on page 3). 

Despite the international community's "big" efforts to address the issue of terrorism, it remains a major security challenge to the Arab world, according to Kuwaiti Emir Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah.  

He added that the fight against terrorist groups and their “distorted ideology” required the international community to make additional and comprehensive efforts to better address this challenge in order to save global security and stability.

He commended Iraq’s successes against the Daesh terrorist group.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani cited terrorism as one of the most dangerous challenges to the Arab region’s safety and security, adding that a consensus was needed on a unified vision to face the threat, through a joint comprehensive approach with the international community.