CAIRO, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Minister of Foreign, Emigration and Expatriates' Affairs Badr Abdelatty on Wednesday reaffirmed Egypt's commitment to expanding cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in several areas, particularly focusing on counter-terrorism.
"The cooperation will focus on combating extremist ideologies, online recruitment, and development of national strategies to counter-terrorism," he said in a meeting in Cairo with UNODC executive director Ghada Waly, according to a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign, Emigration and Expatriates' Affairs.
Waly emphasized UNODC's commitment to offering technical assistance to Egypt and 18 other Arab countries amid regional challenges.
They reviewed cooperation in combating drugs, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, corruption, financial crimes, crime prevention, and criminal justice.
Abdelatty said the partnership between the UN body and African countries is important in light of Egypt's keenness to promote the stability and security of the Sahel and Sahara regions and support counter-terrorism efforts in the region.
The two parties agreed to continue consultation and coordination on overseeing the implementation of joint projects, exploring new avenues for cooperation, and supporting international efforts in combating the misuse of information and communications technology for criminal purposes. ■
