Egypt, UNODC strengthen anti-terrorism collaboration

CAIRO - 10 July 2024: Badr Abdel Aaty, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Migration Affairs, emphasized Egypt's dedication to expanding cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in several key areas, particularly counter-terrorism.

This collaboration will focus on capacity building, combating extremist ideologies, online recruitment, and developing national strategies to counter terrorism and violent extremism.

Dr. Abdel Aaty made these remarks during his meeting with Ghada Waly, the Executive Director of the UNODC, held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was also attended by Ambassador Nabil Habashi, Deputy Minister for Migration Affairs.

Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesperson for the Ministry, reported that Waly congratulated the Foreign Minister on his new role and praised the existing cooperation between Egypt and the UNODC. She reaffirmed the office’s commitment to supporting Egypt in priority areas, aligning with the "Regional Framework for the Arab States 2023 - 2028." This framework provides strategic cooperation between the UNODC, the Arab League, and 18 Arab countries, outlining technical support in response to regional challenges.

The meeting reviewed ongoing cooperation, including combating drugs, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, corruption, financial crimes, crime prevention, and criminal justice. Projects involving the Ministries of Justice, Interior, Defense, Health, and the National Coordinating Committee for Combating and Preventing Illegal Migration and Human Trafficking were highlighted.

Minister Abdel Aaty expressed deep appreciation for the UNODC’s role in Egypt and emphasized the importance of maximizing the benefits from these projects. He proposed utilizing funds from the comprehensive Egypt-EU strategic partnership, suggesting that the UNODC could be an implementing partner for relevant aspects of this partnership.

The minister also proposed new partnerships, exploring cooperation between the UNODC’s regional offices in Africa and the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development. He highlighted Egypt’s interest in the stability and security of the Sahel and Sahara regions and supporting counter-terrorism efforts there.

The meeting also addressed international efforts to combat the criminal use of information and communication technologies. Waly briefed the minister on developments within the intergovernmental expert committee on this issue, noting that the UNODC would handle secretariat duties related to the implementation of these commitments.

Both parties agreed to continue consultations and coordination on the implementation of joint projects and exploring new avenues for cooperation. They also discussed supporting international efforts to combat the criminal use of technology.