Director General of NCTC Meets with UNODC Regional Representative

The Director General of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) met with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Representative for South Asia, Mr. Sergey Kapinos. UNODC Field Office for South Asia covers Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Brigadier General Zakariyya Mansoor welcomed Mr. Kapinos to the Maldives, and expressed gratitude to the UN and UNODC for the continued support and assistance that Maldives has been receiving in terms of capacity and capability building to counter threats such as narco-trafficking, smuggling, maritime piracy and terrorism.

During the meeting, Mr. Kapinos highlighted some of the projects that UNODC will be initiating within the next four years, and the significance of these programs in building the capacity and capabilities of the law enforcement and security agencies, as well as key government authorities. Mr. Kapinos also stressed about the importance of working towards constructive and tangible results, and the need for benchmarks and measures of effectiveness, to gauge the success of programs and projects being implemented. In addition, Mr. Kapinos highlighted some of the administrative aspects of the upcoming "Workshop on Development of National Plans of Action and Strengthening National Framework for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism Leading to Terrorism," slated to be held from the 11-13 of July in Maldives.

Brigadier General Mansoor also expressed his focus on tangible results, and assured Mr. Kapinos that NCTC, as well as other national stakeholder agencies remained committed to working with UNODC on addressing these critical areas of national security. Brigadier General Mansoor also provided an overview of the work being carried out by NCTC to prevent and counter the spread of violent extremist ideologies, and stressed on the need for better international collaboration on this front. BG Mansoor also mentioned that he has directed NCTC to collaborate closely with UNODC to make the upcoming workshop a success.

The meeting was held on 25th May 2017, at MNDF Headquarters, Bandaara Koshi.