ABU DHABI – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is seeking the cooperation of the Philippines in addressing the impact of terrorism on Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
UAE Foreign Affairs Minister Anwar Gargash said they consider the impact of terrorist attacks by extremist groups in the Philippines as an “extremely important” issue.
“Fundamentally, things that are happening in the Middle East have an impact on countries like the Philippines. And I think this is an area that should be explored,” the minister told some 100 foreign journalists in a press conference last Tuesday during the celebration of the UAE’s 43rd founding anniversary.
Gargash stressed that terrorism also also affect other Islamic countries in Southeast Asia like Malaysia and Indonesia.
“Many countries in (SEA) region are saying I need to understand what’s going on not because it is something far away but because it is something that is affecting them,” he explained.
The minister admitted that not much has been done to strengthen the cooperation between Middle East and SEA countries on the anti-terrorism agenda.
“I don’t think we are exploring (the issue) in detail and I think one of the challenges going forward is we want the interaction we have with SEA, which is usually energy related, labor related and economically related, extended. We need to also have an interaction that is political vis-a-vis terrorism and extremism,” he pointed out.
The Philippines is still dealing with the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao.
Gargash believes that terrorism in the region remains far from over as he reiterated their concern over the spread of Daesh terrorist group that threatens the political systems in the Arab region.
He said the UAE, which has been part of the regional and international cooperation against terrorism, is looking forward to creating stronger and more stable systems in the region that can support each other in the face of extremism and terrorism.