UAE voices vehement support for Egypt's counter-terrorism efforts.

The United Arab Emirates reiterated its unequivocal support for Egypt to confront its challenges, including the fight against terrorism, during the opening session of the extraordinary meeting held here on Monday by the Arab League's Council at the level of permanent representatives.

The meeting convened at the request of Egypt to discuss ways of strengthening the Arab collective mechanism to counter terrorism following the deadliest terror attack on Al-Rawda mosque in North Sinai.

Delivering the UAE address at the meeting, Juma Mubarak Al Junaibi, UAE Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League, asserted the UAE's strong support for any measures Egypt may take to confront terrorism and extremism.

''The UAE believes that tackling the scourge of terrorism, its takfirist and extremist tools and disrupting terror financing should be conducted through a set of intellectual and media mechanisms and the spread of the moderate religious discourse. The Arab media message should also be leveraged by promoting values of Islam's moderation and centrism,'' Al Junaibi told the pan-Arab gathering in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

''There is a need for preventive measures to protect our youth from falling prey to these takfirist and inciting ideologies. Countries and organisations financing and inciting terrorism and violence should be held to account and face deterrent actions,'' he stressed.

He stated that the UAE has enacted and enforced several counter-terrorism and anti-discrimination laws. The UAE, in partnership with the United States, launched the Sawab Centre, an online engagement and messaging operation that will support global counter-terrorism efforts and established the Muslim Council of Elders to promote peace in Muslim societies.

He also lauded efforts being made by the Riyadh-based Global Centre for Combating Extremist Ideology, GCCEI, and King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, to address the economic and social root causes leading to terrorism.