DOHA, 22 October 2003 — Interior Minister Prince Naif yesterday urged GCC countries to adopt a strategy to confront “deviant ideas” that serve as a breeding ground for violence and extremism.

Addressing a meeting of GCC interior ministers here, Prince Naif said: “We need strategies to confront these deviant thoughts, ideas, concepts and trends ... instead of statements of condemnation.”

The minister said this was essential to protect the people of the GCC from extremism.

Prince Naif urged the GCC states — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates — to take joint steps to fight crime.

“Correcting wrong concepts and beliefs and extremist ideologies and trends is important in combating violence and terrorism,” the prince said.

He highlighted the importance of educating ordinary people in their role in safeguarding security. “This is as important as taking security measures,” he added.

Prince Naif called on the people of the GCC to give their full support to security agencies in their mission.

Sheikh Hamad ibn Nasser Al-Thani of Qatar, who presided over the meeting, said the discussions would focus on ways of confronting the challenges faced by security agencies in the six countries.

“The most dangerous challenge we face today is terrorism,” the Qatari interior minister said. “Although it is an international phenomenon, we have seen its hands extending to some of our member states.”

Sheikh Hamad urged the GCC states to jointly tackle the challenge “by intensifying efforts, setting out executive plans and adopting coordinated steps.”

GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Atiyya also spoke about the growing terrorist attacks and called for global efforts to fight terrorism.

Al-Atiyya hailed the efforts of Saudi security forces to track down terrorists.

Cautioning against the danger of terrorism spreading to other member countries, the secretary-general urged coordination to ward off the threat.

Prince Naif, who arrived here on Monday night, said the fight against terror was part of a continuous process. “Arab countries signed an agreement to fight terrorism in 1998,” he said.

Prince Naif earlier held talks with Bahrain’s Interior Minister Sheikh Muhammad ibn Khalifa Al-Khalifa, and Kuwaiti Interior Minister Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and discussed issues of mutual concern.