Dr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Defence, is in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for the Second Meeting of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) Defence Ministers’ Council.
The meeting is chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Sa’ad, Saudi Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Council of Defence Ministers of IMCTC member countries.
IMCTC was established in 2015, and the first-ever meeting of the Council of Defence Ministers was held in Riyadh on November 26, 2017.
The mission of the IMCTC is aimed at coordinating ideological, media and counter-terrorist financing and military efforts within its member countries with a high degree of efficiency and effectiveness, unifying and supporting them in partnership with friendly countries in counter-terrorism and international organisations.
Its vision is to become a global leader in counter-terrorism and a primary partner in international security and peace-making efforts.
In addition to Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, the IMCTC has 40 other members, some of whom are Pakistan, Senegal, Kenya, Benin, Turkey, Guinea-Bissau, Sudan, Cote de Voírè, Egypt, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, among others.
Furthermore, IMCTC has an existing MoU with the USA, the United Kingdom, and France as supporting countries to the Coalition, whose roles include developing initiatives, political participation, advocacy, sharing information and providing resources to IMCTC when required.
During the meeting, issues of terrorism in Nigeria were highlighted, pointing out the negative impact of Boko Haram, the Islamic State-West Africa Province (ISWAP), and other terrorist groups. The efforts of the present Nigerian administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against terrorism in particular and security in general are also highly appreciated by the Coalition.
In line with its core values and strategic objectives, IMCTC reiterated its commitment to support and collaborate with the Nigerian government in the fight against terrorism.
This was made known during a closed-door meeting between the representative of the Saudi Minister of Defence, the Chief of Joint Staff, the Secretary General of the IMCTC, the Nigerian Minister of State for Defence and other major stakeholders of the Saudi Government.
The old and strong cordial relationship that has long existed between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia was also emphasised. Issues of collaboration, the transfer of military technology and the Memorandum of Understanding on security cooperation were also discussed during the closed-door meeting.
It is envisaged that this very important meeting would eventually improve collaboration in the fight against terrorism globally and subsequently elevate counter-terrorism and security efforts across the African Sahel region, which would eventually aid in further degrading the operations and activities of Boko Haram, ISWAP and other terrorist groups in Nigeria.
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