Qatar participates in global counterterror forum in Japan

Qatar participated in the 13th meeting of the Co-ordinating Committee of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), held in the Japanese capital, Tokyo.Qatari Foreign Minister’s Special Envoy on Counterterrorism and Mediation in Disputes’ settlements ambassador Dr Mutlaq bin Majed al-Qahtani headed the country’s delegation during the meeting.Participating delegations discussed ways to strengthen international co-operation in the area of counter-terrorism and ways to operationalise the forum’s initiatives.Qatar stressed its support for these initiatives, stressing the importance of constructive co-operation without politicising the efforts.During the meeting, Qatar presented its point of view in the fight against terrorism and extremism from a regional perspective, stating that most of the root causes of the conflicts related to terrorism and extremism in the Middle East belonged to sectarian differences, regional rivalry and ongoing conflicts in Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.Qatar further stressed that the real war on terror is not the defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria militarily, it is to establish social norms to ensure peaceful coexistence, democracy, equal opportunities and political integration.Qatar considers that suffering and injustice paves the way for terrorism to flourish, in addition to the extremist religious doctrines that posed a threat to all, it is a sign that these extremist ideologies exist in all cultures and are not exclusive to Islam.In this context, Qatar referred to the persistence of the evil axes in the region in distorting religious principles in their favour and poisoning the minds of the desperate, stressing that the policy of “adventure” must be put to an end “and political manoeuvres by the new adventurers in the region.Qatar referred to the important role played by non-governmental institutions in operationalising the objectives and initiatives of the forum, warning the exploitation of these institutions by some States of the region (as a centre of guidance) for political purposes.