Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Monday that Egypt is among top world countries that fight terrorism.

Egypt's membership at the UN Security Council will give it a chance to coordinate international efforts to counter terrorism, Shoukry said in the international press conference of the 13th Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFA).

Terrorism will always be the real threat to the world, the top diplomat said, pressing for efforts to strongly counter this phenomenon.

Many terrorist attacks took place in a number of world countries last year, which, according to Shoukry, proves that terrorism has no religion or ethnicity.

Terrorism has become a cross-border threat, he noted.

Shoukry praised efforts exerted by the ECFA in the past period.

Speaking to the conference was also Wahib el Menyawi, the chairman of ECFA. He told the gathering about ECFA activities over the past year and its role.

Today's conference will focus on strategies to fight terrorism and its dimensions on the local, Arab, African and international fronts, Menyawi said.

It will also discuss efforts to strike a balance between requirements in the fight against terrorism and guarantees to respect human rights, he added.

Figuring high in the conference will also be the repercussions of terrorism on the global economy.

Regional terrorism and Egypt's national security are also on the agenda of the one-day event.

A group of ambassadors and intellectuals are taking part in the conference.

Source: MENA