UNIPATH STAFF His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein of Jordan and Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon met in Amman to discuss improving relations and increasing security between the two nations. The December 2017 talks led to agreements in the fields of economics, trade, science, technology, tourism, culture and agriculture. One outcome will be the formation of a joint Jordanian-Tajikistani business council. The talks were followed by a communiqué in which the two countries announced plans to bolster cooperation by creating a Jordanian-Tajikistani parliamentary friendship committee and boosting political relations by coordinating their foreign affairs ministries and embassies. President Rahmon,…
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UNIPATH STAFF Kyrgyzstan and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) are partnering to protect some of the country’s biggest strategic assets: its hydroelectric dams and power stations. The OSCE Programme Office has donated video surveillance equipment to the National Guard of the Armed Forces of Kyrgyzstan to enhance the Tash-Kuymr and Kurpsai power stations. Two other large hydroelectric stations in the country, Shamaldysai and Uch-Korgon, received security cameras several years ago. “Improving operational readiness and the protection of critical energy facilities is one of the key objectives of the country,” said Almazbek Karasartov, commander of the Kyrgyzstan…
UNIPATH STAFF Improving Oman’s response to cyber attacks was the goal of the country’s fourth National Cyber Security Drill, which involved 34 government agencies. Millions of attacks target Oman’s networks annually. The three-day drill, held in October 2017 by Oman’s Information Technology Authority (ITA) through its Computer Emergency Response Team (OCERT), tested the readiness of governmental institutions to fend off such attacks. It also enhanced coordination between OCERT and the private sector. OCERT head Eng Bader Ali al Salhi noted that Oman had investigated more than 1,800 security incidents through the first 10 months of 2017. It has also issued…
UNIPATH STAFF Coalition International Night is an annual event at United States Central Command (CENTCOM) that honors the dozens of nations that have contributed to the fight against global terrorism. The November 30, 2017, event — the 13th International Night since 2005 — provided an opportunity for representatives from countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia to share photographs, clothing, foods, crafts and books from their home countries with visitors. It also allowed officers from the Middle East, Europe, Australia, the Americas and Central, South and East Asia to share their cultures with U.S. leaders such as CENTCOM Commander Gen.…
UNIPATH STAFF Stability in Yemen was the focus of a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, of regional foreign ministers and military chiefs in October 2017. Among the prominent voices urging a peaceful solution to the crisis in Yemen were those of Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Jordan Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat. Safadi reiterated Jordan’s support for multinational agreements regarding Yemen, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216 and the Gulf Initiative. He noted that the Arab Alliance was created to respond to a request from the legitimate government of Yemen. Jordanian security is linked…
UNIPATH STAFF Egypt is planning to build the largest seawater desalination plant in the world in the Suez coastal city of Ain Sokhna. The project has a 300 million euro loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The plant will have the capacity to purify 164,000 cubic meters of seawater a day and will contribute to the economic revival of the Suez governate, said Kamal El-Wazeir, head of the Egyptian Armed Forces Engineering Authority. Three other large desalination plants operate nearby in El Galala, and Egypt has constructed others in Marsa Matrouh farther west on the coast of…
UNIPATH STAFF The Qatari Armed Forces helped rescue hundreds of victims of a massive terrorist attack in the Somali capital of Mogadishu in October 2017. Under orders from His Royal Highness Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, a Qatari medical and rescue team aboard a C-17 aircraft flew 2,700 kilometers to Somalia with first aid for victims of a terror bombing that overwhelmed Mogadishu’s medical system. Afterward, Qatar helped transport more than 100 wounded to hospitals in Khartoum, Sudan. The military mission included assistance from the Qatar International Search and Rescue Group and Hamad Medical Corporation. In a further…
UNIPATH STAFF Iraqi Armed Forces and Syrian troops affiliated with the coalition symbolically linked hands on their mutual border in December 2017 to mark the final defeat of Daesh in Iraq. The terrorist group once boasted more than 25,000 fighters in the region, but by the beginning of 2018 fewer than 3,000 remained, mostly in Syria. So thoroughly had Iraqi forces recaptured the territory once occupied by Daesh that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared final victory December 10, 2017. Nearly 8 million Iraqis and Syrians have been liberated from Daesh misrule since 2014. Cities freed included Ramadi, Mosul, Fallujah, Raqqa…
UNIPATH STAFF The Arab League adopted an Egyptian resolution to develop a pan-Arab counterterrorism system, according to an official statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in December 2017. The resolution was approved just days after terrorists murdered 311 civilians at Friday prayers at Al-Rawdah mosque in North Sinai. Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said the resolution reinforces efforts to build consensus in support of Egypt’s counterterrorism vision. In line with the view of the Egyptian government, the resolution called combating terrorism a fundamental human right. The resolution called for implementing the Arab Convention for the Suppression…
Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa Leads His Nation Against Extremism UNIPATH STAFF Photos by the Associated Press A stark reminder hangs on the office wall of Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistan’s chief of Army staff. The photos on display are those of children murdered by terrorists in Peshawar’s Army Public School in December 2014. Gen. Bajwa is determined not to forget. The Army he has commanded since late 2016 has recommitted itself to fighting violent extremism through well-publicized counterterrorism operations such as Zarb-e-Azb and Rudd-ul-Fasaad. “The Pakistan Army is capable of meeting all internal and external challenges. It…