Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched the national report on combating terrorism for the year 2021, which reviews the efforts of the Egyptian state and its comprehensive approach to combating terrorism and extremist ideology. The report was prepared in coordination with the various ministries and state agencies concerned, highlighting the efforts of those authorities in confronting terrorist threats, and presenting the relevant national policies and practices. In this regard, Minister Plenipotentiary Mohamed Fouad, Director of the International Counter-Terrorism Unit, stated that the report presents the achievements made at the national level in connection with the implementation of the comprehensive Egyptian approach to dealing with the various dimensions of the phenomenon of terrorism. He said that the report deals with the legislative system to combat terrorism, including national legislation and its amendments that are consistent with Egypt's relevant international obligations. The report presents the pioneering Egyptian experience in the field of awareness and prevention of extremist and inflammatory ideology, which is based on the initiative launched by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in 2014 to correct religious discourse. This comes out of the conviction that the intellectual confrontation should be given the necessary attention to immunize the groups of society, especially the youth, from the dangers of intellectual polarization. Fouad added that the report addresses the security efforts made to pursue terrorist organizations and undermine their ability to carry out operations that affect the security and stability of the country. It also deals with efforts to combat terrorist financing and dry up its sources. Egypt has received wide praise in this regard from the Financial Action Task Force(FATF) for the Middle East and North Africa, in view of the effectiveness of the Egyptian systems applied to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. He also pointed out that the report also clarifies the efforts made to achieve sustainable development and raise the standard of living of citizens, taking into consideration the importance of the development dimension in preventing terrorism and extremism. These efforts included all governorates of the Republic, and contributed to the development of various sectors, foremost of which is the development of informal areas, public services, health, education, and transportation. This includes providing means of support and care for the families of martyrs and victims of terrorist operations. Fouad noted that Egypt has given the issue of combating terrorism and extremist ideology a high priority on its foreign policy agenda. Egypt actively participates in the formulation of relevant international trends at the level of multilateral forums, particularly the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), and the Arab League. It is also keen to address the various aspects of this issue in its contacts with various countries of the world through bilateral frameworks. Egypt has always stressed the importance of adopting a comprehensive approach to combating and preventing terrorism, and the need to confront all terrorist organizations without exception, as they represent a common threat to international peace and security. Egypt stresses the importance of not distinguishing between the material terrorist act on the one hand and the extremist inflammatory thought or discourse that leads to terrorism on the other. At the conclusion of the report, Egypt called for strengthening coordination among the countries of the world to confront this scourge in its various dimensions in view of the growing terrorist threats.
