Asia-Europe Counter-Terrorism Dialogue 2017 - Regional Programme Political Dialogue Asia
Event Reports
This year's Dialogue "The Decentralization of Daesh" was opened by Dr. Ole Diehl, Vice-President of the Bundesnachrichtendienst. His remarks immediately emphasized that transnational terrorism demands for cooperative efforts by all states. Particularly Asia and Europe have a great potential for such collaboration. Another highlight of the conference was the keynote speech by Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of the Interior of Germany Dr. Günter Krings MdB. His remarks showed that the threat landscape and modus operandi of the terrorists in both regions have many similarities. It was already the second time that Dr. Krings spoke at the "Asia-Europe Counter-Terrorism Dialogue", which again underlines the great appreciation of and political support for this initiative.
The closed-door dialogue under Chatham House Rule was attended by diplomatic corps and the chief counter-terrorism experts of Germany, Singapore, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Europol, Indonesia, Malaysia, OSCE, Pakistan, Philippines, the United Kingdom, European Union and UN Security Council.
In light of the recent spread of Daesh-inspired and –directed terrorist activities in Europe as well as Asia, it is necessary to enhance international cooperation and dialogue among all stakeholders involved in countering terrorism and violent extremism. Even a military defeat of Daesh in Syria and Iraq will not set an end to the very existence of the organization, but it may result in an exodus of fighters to Europe and Asia and a decentralization of the group. It is therefore imperative to enhance the dialogue and exchange between the two regions and develop effective de-radicalization programmes.
Already in 2015, KAS and ICPVTR have started a cooperation to foster such exchanges between Asian and European countries. The result of this has been the establishment of the annual Asia-Europe Counter Terrorism Dialogue which takes place in Asia and Europe in alternating years. The Dialogue offers a unique opportunity for policy makers, representatives of ministries as well as law enforcement units and experts from the academia to have an exchange on current developments and collaborative activities. In addition, the discussion is supported by regular publications.
