The UAE participates in the 26th meeting of the Coordination Committee of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum

The Foreign Minister’s envoy for counter-terrorism, Maqsood Cruz, led the country’s delegation to the twenty-sixth meeting of the Coordination Committee of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum, in addition to the side sessions, which were held in Brussels from June 9-10, 2026.

The meeting sessions discussed the future direction of the Forum on the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary of its founding, which provided the opportunity for member states to share opinions on how to ensure the effectiveness of the Forum’s work, including its internal structure, work processes, the impact of its outputs and the governance system.

The discussions also addressed the importance of unifying the efforts of countries in the ninth review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in the fourth United Nations Counter-Terrorism Week, which will be held at the end of June this year.

Maqsoud Cruz announced in his speech the UAE’s pledge to provide financial support to the forum in the amount of five hundred thousand euros for the year 2027, and annual financial support to the forum in the amount of three hundred thousand dollars starting in the year 2028.

He also stressed that the UAE is committed to strengthening international efforts in combating extremism and terrorism of all kinds and forms within the framework of multilateral partnerships, given that there is an urgent need for cooperation between all countries and international organizations in facing the current global challenges related to combating extremism and terrorism, which include addressing the financing of terrorist groups, rejecting radicalism, combating extremist rhetoric and recruitment methods, and dealing with extremist and terrorist groups’ use of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence.

The joint presidency of the forum, represented by the European Union and Egypt, praised the financial pledge of the UAE, and appreciated its supportive role in discussions related to supporting the efforts of the Global Forum to Combat Terrorism, in addition to the praises from a number of participating countries for the UAE support.

It is worth noting that the UAE is a founding member of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum, which is considered an informal, multilateral international platform supportive of the efforts of the United Nations and complementary to the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which was established in 2011 with the aim of enhancing international cooperation in combating terrorism and preventing extremism through developing good practices and non-legally binding tools to support national capacity building and exchange of experiences between countries.

The country also hosts the Hedayah International Center for Excellence in Combating Extremism and Violent Extremism, based in Abu Dhabi since its inauguration in 2012, which is considered the first institution emanating from the Forum.