Minister of Defence Mariya Didi has reaffirmed the full support of the Government of the Maldives to national and international counter-terrorism efforts, under the Zero Tolerance Against Terrorism and Violent Extremism policy. She made the statement during a courtesy call paid by the Secretary-General of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) Major General Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Moghedi.
During the meeting, Minister Mariya noted the ongoing deployment of officers of Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) at the IMCTC Counter Terrorism Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, since January 2020, having extended the initial one-year term of service.
Meanwhile, Major General Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Moghedi reassured the coalition would extend its full cooperation to the efforts of the Maldives to prevent and counter-terrorism and violent extremism, through avenues such as the provision of well-qualified Islamic scholars to better educate the public on religious issues and the provision of anti-terror response equipment.
The 41-member strong coalition was established in December 2015, with the primary objective of protecting Muslim countries from all terrorist groups and terrorist organisations irrespective of their sect and name, and coordinating counter-terrorism efforts among countries.