Experts from all over the world are taking part in a major forum in Bahrain to find ways to combat funding of terrorist activities.

The Manama Meeting on Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) that takes place today (November 9) is organised by the foreign and finance ministries, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

The significance of the event, which was announced during last September's Paris International Conference on Peace and Security in Iraq, was hailed by Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, who said that "this meeting is in line with Bahrain's contribution to the international effort to eradicate terrorism".

He stressed that much of the success of the global war on terror depends on blocking the transfer of funds to terrorist groups. He also called for similar gatherings to agree radical approaches to eradicate terrorism; the first enemy of global peace and stability.

Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa highlighted the importance of financial and banking aspects of international CFT efforts.

He argued that "there was a pressing need to prevent the financing of terrorism and counter the illicit transfers of funds".

The meeting will discuss strengthening the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions relating to CFT and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations.

It will also address means of achieving better international and domestic co-operation and collaboration between states and bodies concerned, as well as encouraging capacity building and sharing methods of identifying terrorist financing risks and vulnerabilities.

Delegates represent many GCC and Arab League member states along with the US, the UK, France, Russia, China and other countries.

A number of regional and international organisations, including the UN, the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, the FATF and its Bahrain-based regional body, the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force, are also represented.

Experts from the US will join participants from an international coalition campaigning to defeat the Islamic State (IS), along with partners in the global financial system and the FATF, at the conference to explore new measures for countering terrorist organisations like the IS's finances, US Ambassador Thomas Krajeski said in a statement yesterday.

"We're grateful to Bahrain's leadership in bringing the coalition together to discuss areas of co-operation on this critical issue, including the full implementation of recent UN Security Council resolutions," he said. – TradeArabia News Service