Malé, Maldives – Secretary-General of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) Major General Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Moghedi paid a courtesy call on Minister of Defence Mariya Didi on Monday.
During the meeting held at MNDF IHQ, the IMCTC’s Secretary General MG Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Moghedi reassured the Minister of Defence that the Coalition would extend its full cooperation to the Maldivian Government’s efforts 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.
Minister Mariya reaffirmed the full support of the Maldivian Government to national and international counter-terrorism efforts, under President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s “Zero Tolerance Against Terrorism and Violent Extremism” policy. In this regard, the Minister noted the ongoing deployment of MNDF officers at the IMCTC’s Counter Terrorism Center in the Saudi capital Riyadh, since January 2020, having extended the initial 1-year term of service.
The 41-member strong coalition was established in December 2015, with the primary objective of protecting Muslim countries from all terrorist groups and terrorist organizations irrespective of their sect and name, and coordinating Counter Terrorism efforts among countries.
The Minister of Defence was joined by the Director General of National Counter Terrorism Center BG Zakariyya Mansoor, Military Secretary to the Minister of Defence BG Abdul Matheen Ahmed, Commander of Maldivian contingent at IMCTC Colonel Mohamed Mukhthar, and Principal Director of MNDF’s Department of International Defence Cooperation LTC Ahmed Shareef.
