Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed the importance of inter-Arab cooperation in the area of intelligence on Monday during the inauguration of the Arab Intelligence Forum 2021 in Cairo, the Egyptian presidency said.

During the inauguration, which was attended by the heads of intelligence services from a number of Arab countries, El-Sisi asserted the importance of empowering the forum as a strong and supportive mechanism for cooperation in intelligence between Arab countries.

The Egyptian president also said that the forum should work on a counterterrorism system that depends on exchanging expertise.

El-Sisi also stressed the importance of Arab countries cooperating to restore stability in all the region’s countries, where terrorist organisations attempt to expand with the support of foreign forces that aim to create chaos to control the resources and capabilities of the Arab world.

The president also called on the participants to cooperate and take a unified stance to overcome any differences and to advance the interests of Arab nations and peoples.

The heads of intelligence agencies who participated in the forum stressed the importance of the platform in boosting cooperation to protect Arab national security by exchanging points of view on dealing with the rapid challenges facing the region, especially in counterterrorism, organised crime and radical thought.

The Arab Intelligence Forum was held upon the invitation of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service in February 2020.

Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Abul El-Gheit attended the inauguration.