KHARTOUM, 25 March 2005 — Sudan and Saudi Arabia yesterday signed two agreements on fighting terrorism and drug smuggling in addition to strengthening bilateral cooperation in security matters.
Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif, who is currently visiting Sudan, and his Sudanese counterpart, Gen. Abdul Rahim Hussein, signed the agreements.
“Extremism and terrorism spread at alarming rates in the world and this led enemies of Islam to exploit the situation and work to defame Islam. Saudi Arabia has confronted terrorism with strength and resolve to uproot the menace. Security forces in the Kingdom foiled many dangerous terrorist operations,” Prince Naif said after signing the agreements.
The Kingdom has witnessed a series of deadly attacks over the past two years that mostly targeted foreigners.
Prince Naif added that confronting terrorism requires an intellectual offensive against fanaticism and fundamentalism. Winning the war against terrorism would require more than military confrontation with militants, he said.
The Sudanese minister said his country and Saudi Arabia “stand in one trench” in fighting terrorism.
Asked what role the Kingdom could play in resolving the conflict in Sudan’s western province of Darfur, Prince Naif said: “Sudan is capable of solving its problems.”
Prince Naif was awarded an honorary doctorate in security studies by Al-Rabat Al-Watani University which is run by the Sudanese Ministry of the Interior, in appreciation of his efforts toward promoting security and stability in the Arab and Islamic world.
He thanked the university for bestowing such honor on him and said the Kingdom respected and appreciated the historic relations between the two countries and their peoples. He described his three-day visit to Khartoum as successful, saying it had achieved its goals.
Prince Naif arrived in Khartoum on Tuesday and was received by the Sudanese First Vice President, Ali Othman Muhammad Taha.
