A delegation from the Kingdom of Bahrain, led by the Chief of Strategic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Nancy Abdulla Jamal, participated in the seventh International Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Research Conference 2022 which was held in Granada, Kingdom of Spain.
The event is organised by Hedayah International Centre for Combating Violent Extremism in cooperation with many international research centres and institutes, most notably the University of Granada.
During the opening session, Ambassador Nancy Jamal delivered a speech in which she highlighted the importance that the Kingdom of Bahrain attaches to contributing to international efforts aimed at researching and addressing the development of the world’s understanding of the phenomenon of violent extremism, especially by identifying the latest trends in the dissemination of radical ideologies and the weaknesses that exist in fragile societies that have suffered from wars and conflicts that lead to the spread of extremist ideology that is exploited by terrorist groups.
She said that since the COVID-19 outbreak, the world has dealt with many challenges inherent in fragile societies, which have been exacerbated by social and economic conditions in some parts of the world, which opened the door to criminal exploitation by some extremist groups in an attempt to strike at the efforts of governments to protect peoples from this pandemic, but the peoples of the world understood this and the world has been able to protect itself from the pandemic.
The Ambassador added that the concept of violent extremism is not new, but the term itself is under constant pressure to accommodate developments on the ground, which is subject to some challenges in various fields, noting that on the research and academic level, specialised institutions tend to understand the phenomenon through the terrorist threat that is clear at the time, which affects the broader understanding of the phenomenon and thus affects the programmes of control and prevention. However, international specialists from decision-makers are aware of this shortcoming and are oriented to the continuity of studying the term terrorism and its frameworks, which makes the joint work between the academy and politics a basis for the rise of nations.
She stressed that the various international work and plans carried out over the years are a great achievement that must be protected, and all of them are an integral part of the national, regional and international policy-making process of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
She further referred to the persistent and continuous efforts of the Kingdom of Bahrain in combating extremism and its permanent commitment to support this file, praising the constructive work of Hedayah since its establishment in linking the intellectual perceptions of East and West scholars with the aim of building sufficient flexibility to exchange experiences and participate in the development of scientific research, which, in turn, succeeded in engaging the region’s intellectual voice for peace, prosperity, and stability.
The Ambassador concluded her speech by stressing that this conference will contribute to acquiring new concepts for upcoming business, stressing that building strong global bilateral and multilateral partnerships in combating extremism will remain a cornerstone of the Bahraini government’s foreign policy.
