Britain and UAE launch taskforce to prevent violent extremism

The UK and UAE are to form a new taskforce to help prevent extremism.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson met his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the UN General Meeting in New York this week where they expressed their commitment to a continued partnership and support for Hedayah, the Abu Dhabi based international centre for countering violent extremism.

“Violent extremism is a global problem that requires global leadership and local partnerships. The UK has a close friend and partner in the United Arab Emirates, and I am grateful to the Emirati government for their continued leadership and commitment as together we tackle the scourge of extremism,” Johnson said at the ceremony where the joint Declaration of Intent was signed.

“The UK and UAE support for Hedayah will help governments develop and implement comprehensive national action plans to prevent violent extremism and support a range of practical programmes including community policing and addressing the global threat posed by returning foreign terrorist fighters. Senior British experts have been seconded to Hedayah to spearhead work on national action plans and capacity-building programmes,” Johnson added.

The UK and the UAE had worked together since 2011 to preside over the Global Counterterrorism Forum; Hedayah is considered the operational arm of this working group.

The UK has committed to providing around $1.4m to support Hedayah’s programmes in 2016-17, in addition to a similar amount over each of the financial years until March 2020, subject to performance, budget availability and programme impact assessment, a government website said.