Interior Minister attends Arab meeting in Algeria

Algiers, Mar11(BNA)Interior Minister Lieutenant-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa led Bahrain's delegation to the 32nd session of the Arab Interior Ministers Council, which convened today in Algiers under the patronage of His Majesty Algerian President Abdulaziz Bouteflika. During the opening ceremony, Interior Minister delivered the following speech on behalf of the Kingdom of Bahrain: "I would like to, at the beginning of this meeting, express to you my sincere greetings while we are meeting again in this session in Algeria. I express my thanks and appreciation to the leadership, government and people of Algeria for hosting this event and good supporting Arab joint work in all fields, especially security. I also express my thanks to my brother Minister of Interior and the Ministry’s personnel for their hospitality. On this occasion I would like to express my best greetings to His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Naif Abdulaziz Al Saud for being appointed Deputy Crown Prince and my fellow ministers who joined this meeting. I thank also the General Secretary and General Secretariat of the Arab Ministers of Interior Council. What the Arab region is witnessing has led to the deaths of innocent victims and to destruction in Arab countries. It wasn’t a coincidence or random matter, but a serious plot that we have faced. There are still hot spots and the loss of lives and there are families who have migrated from their homes and countries. We pray to God for victory of the righteous and goodness to save innocents. Despites these challenges it has failed to break the Arab identity. Today the recovery of Arab security is our supreme goal. The most important thing today is cor general order to be restored or we will move to chaos and instability. Hence, there is no other option for this nation except for Arab security and stability to win by grace of God. Cooperation between brothers is a must, especially as most security threats and challenges have common factors. I would like to reiterate the importance of this meeting as it represents the will and dedication of Arab security cooperation. There is no doubt that a weak security stance is often the reason for confusion and differences in Arab political stances. Brothers, we are responsible for the protection of security in our nations and we work hard to ensure that we succeed. Dangers are now expanding and crossing borders. This motivates us to adopt a joint security strategy that is capable of meeting the developments and latest threats in order to eliminate them. May God help you toward the path of truth and goodness and make our meeting here blessed. Peace, mercy and blessings of God. At the end of the meeting, the council issued a final statement entitled "Algerian Declaration on Fighting Terrorism" that renewed its condemnation of terrorism whatever its cause or motive. It also condemned all brutal and barbaric acts committed by terrorist organizations, including terrorism against minorities, theft and destruction of archaeology and cultural heritage . The statement rejected violence, extremism and sectarianism speech, stressing the need for Islam moderation and Arab and Islamic unity. The council committed to fight terrorism and organized crime, calling upon countries to adopt comprehensive measures to keep individuals away from crime and extremist ideologies that lead to terrorism. It also called for legislation that penalized joining or attempting to join terrorism groups and fighting cybercrime by terrorist groups to promote their operations and expand their activities. On the sidelines of the session, the Interior Minister met His Royal Highness Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the honorary Chairman of the Arab Interior Minister Council. Topics of the session and common interest were discussed as part of the strong relations between the two brotherly countries that have witnessed improvement in the eras of the two leaderships of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and his Brother the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The minister applauded the distinguished role of Saudi Arabia in fighting terrorism to support the security in Gulf countries, and highlighted the importance of the continuation of cooperation to fight terrorism and extremist ideologies that are against Islamic principles and Arab values. He also met Lebanese Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq and discussed security cooperation, security topics of common interests and developments in the region. He also held a meeting with Egyptian Interior Minister, Major-General Magdy Abdel-Ghafar and congratulated him on his new post and wished him success in facing security challenges in Egypt that represents strategic depth for Bahrain and the rest of the Gulf countries. The Egyptian Interior Minister expressed appreciation of all Egyptians for the supportive stance of Bahrain to Egypt and hailed the close relationship between the two brotherly countries. Topics of common interests and security cooperation were also discussed. Lt-Gen Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa was accompanied by a number of Interior Ministry officers.