Arab interior ministers arrive in Tunis for high-level meeting

The Arab Interior Ministers Council meeting will be opened by Tunisian President Kais Saied

Kais Saied, President of Tunisia, today welcomed H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, upon receiving the Arab Ministers participating in the 37th edition of the Arab Interior Ministers Council. WAM

Interior ministers from across the Middle East and North Africa began arriving in Tunis on Tuesday for the 40th session of the Arab Interior Ministers Council.

The meeting will bring together Arab security officials and representatives of international bodies, with the aim of discussing joint regional security co-operation.

Tunisian President Kais Saied welcomed Qatari Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa, who arrived in Tunis on Sunday an official state visit before the council meeting.

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The two officials discussed further co-operation opportunities between Tunisia and Qatar, including Qatari investments in various Tunisian sectors, and offered an exchange of expertise between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Tunisian Interior Minister Taoufik Charfeddine received both his Jordanian and Iraqi counterparts, Mazen Al Faraya and Abdel Amir Al Shammari, at the Tunis Carthage Airport. Caretaker Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi has also arrived in Tunis.

Besides the attendance of interior ministers from Arab countries, representatives of several regional and international security bodies will be present.

Participating organisations include the Arab League, the Gulf Co-operation Council, the Maghreb Union, the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol), the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Co-operation (Europol), Naif Arab University for Security Sciences and the Arab Police Sports Federation.

The ministerial meeting is expected to focus on the implementation of the outcomes of the last session's resolutions as well as future security co-operation with regard to human rights and countering terrorism in the region, a representative of the Tunisian Ministry of Interior told The National.

The Tunis session will also examine the council's work in the field of cyber security and combating cybercrime.

Updated: March 01, 2023, 4:01 AM