Hedayah and Inter-Parliamentary Union discuss cooperation

Hedayah, the International Centre of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism, received the Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU, President, Dr. Saber Chowdhury and its Secretary-General, Martin Chungong, to expand areas of collaboration in on-going counter violent extremism efforts with parliaments across the globe.

The meeting followed discussions between the IPU and the Federal National Council to strengthen cooperation, and the need to promote values of peace, tolerance and coexistence.

Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Hedayah Steering Board, highlighted the significance of the visit and expressed his appreciation to Dr. Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, Speaker of Federal National Council, for providing the platform to build ties and encourage a strategic partnership between member parliaments and Hedayah.

Maqsoud Kruse, Executive Director of Hedayah, welcomed the high-level parliamentary delegation and emphasised the importance of this visit, which reflects parliamentary involvement in preventing violent extremism efforts and the importance of building strategic partnerships among global parliamentary institutions and international organisations in countering violent extremism.

Mr. Kruse also introduced the centre's mission, goals and achievements, which included initiatives and activities of its three programme departments: Dialogue and Communications, Capacity Building Programmes and Research and Analysis. He also discussed the leading role IPU and Hedayah can play in facilitating dialogue amongst the IPU’s 171 members on existing threats in violent extremism.

Dr. Chowdhury commended the international role of the UAE in tackling violent extremism at both the regional and international levels with its support in establishing and hosting Hedayah. With the support of UAE and the Member States of the Global Counter Terrorism Forum, Hedayah has contributed to the advancement of the international community’s efforts in countering violent extremism.