Commissioner of Police (CP) Mohamed Hameed, on Monday, stated that counter-terrorism efforts required widescale cooperation from numerous parties.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Asia Counter Terrorism Leaders Forum, CP Hameed declared that Maldives needed the assistance of like-minded countries to curb terrorism.
The Commissioner emphasised the importance of funding micro-level social initiatives which aim to promote peace between different organisations and discourage individuals from joining terrorist groups for economic reasons.
Furthermore, he highlighted that counter-terrorism measures require long periods of time to make significant impacts, affirming the necessity of patience.
CP Hameed also stated that counter-terrorism was the top priority for the police over the past 15 years. Hameed revealed that special importance was assigned to investigating and evaluating cases of Maldivians returning from conflict zones and rehabilitating such individuals.
Additionally, he stated that efforts to strengthen the national framework on preventing terrorism were underway. According to CP Hameed the framework would improve bilateral relations among South Asian countries within the field.
Speaking to local media outlets following the inauguration ceremony, Hameed expressed concern over Maldivian citizens travelling to foreign countries to participate in conflicts.
He provided reassurances that the police was working with other government institutions to finalise methods to deal with such cases.
The Asian Counter Terrorism Forum was held in collaboration with the Australian Federal Police at Iskandharu Koshi in the capital city of Male'. In addition to Maldives, representatives of Australia, Thailand, Bangladesh and Myanmar participated in the forum.
All participating countries reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate with one another to counter the spread of violent extremism in the region.
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