Ali specifies counterterrorism measures at Paris seminar

Director of the Center for Middle East Studies in Paris (CEMO) Abdel Rahim Ali said Saturday that cooperation, coordination and continual dialogue between the seven industrial nations, on one hand, and African and Asian states, on the other, on common issues and problems, including means of fighting terrorism, is extremely important at present.

He added at the monthly breakfast seminar of the center at its headquarters in the French capital that the following three main steps need to be taken in the fight against terrorism and terrorism financing:

1 – Boosting intelligence cooperation, especially in the exchange of information

2 – Boosting security and military cooperation, especially in chasing terrorist elements and denying them safe refuges

3 – Boosting economic and technical cooperation in conflict areas, such as Libya, Yemen and Sinai in Egypt, and offering support to states that fight terrorism

He expressed hopes that the leaders attending the G7 summit in Biarritz will discuss these steps and take decisions on them.

"We are facing problems that can blow up in the face of any country either sooner or later," Ali said.

The seminar is organized on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Biarritz, a seaside town on the southwestern French Basque coast. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is attending the summit for the first time.

Mariam Benrand, a political violence specialist at the Arab and Islamic World Research and Studies Institute of the French Ministry of Higher Education, participates in the seminar. .

Renowned Middle Eastern affairs specialist Roland Lombardi is also participating, along with renowned researcher Joachim Veliocas.

The seminar is mediated by CEMO Executive Director Ahmed Youssef.