A two-day High-level International Conference on "Countering Terrorism and Preventing Violent Extremism" opened in Dushanbe today morning.

According to the Tajik MFA information department, the conference is being held by the Government of Tajikistan in cooperation with the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union (EU).

The conference participants include heads and senior representatives of foreign ministries and other relevant bodies from 46 countries and senior representatives of international organizations.

Thus, heads and senior representatives of foreign ministries and other relevant bodies of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Hungary, Switzerland, Bahrain, India, Armenia, Russia, China, the United States, Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Canada, Belgium, Slovakia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Korea, Japan, Iran, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan, Qatar, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Algeria, Syria, Libya and some other countries are participating in the Conference.

Besides, heads and senior representatives of the UN, the OSCE, the EU, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the CIS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as well as diplomatic missions, partners for development, civil society and research institutions are also participating in the Conference, said the Tajik MFA information department.

The conference aims to address the security challenges facing the countries of the world and unite efforts to counter terrorism, radicalism and violent extremism as the main feeder of instability in many parts of the world.

It also aims at creating a common understanding of current challenges and exploring opportunities for strengthening partnership and cooperation at the national, regional and international levels to combat terrorism and violent extremism in addition to share opportunities and challenges in the implementation of Tajikistan's national counter-terrorism strategy.

The conference looks forward to identifying the trends and challenges of extremism, the role of youth, ideology and information in preventing and combating violent extremism leading to terrorism, as well as sharing experiences in combating it and focusing on preventing foreign terrorist fighters (FTF) threats. It also seeks to identify domestic and regional counter-terrorism mechanisms, and strengthening cooperation against electronic terrorism and developing guidelines to combat violent extremism in cyberspace.

Recall, the United Nations in partnership with the Government of Tajikistan is holding the panel discussion “UN Support to Preventing Violent Extremism: Field Experiences” in the National Library of Tajikistan today afternoon. The discussion is a side event within the framework of the High-level International Conference “Countering Terrorism and Preventing Violent Extremism.”