Off-the-Record Dinner Discussion: Saudi Arabia’s Counterterrorism Efforts
On August 22, His Highness Prince Abdullah Al-Saud, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States and Mr. Nawaf Althari, Counter-Terrorism Adviser for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Permanent Mission to the United Nations joined participants in the Congressional Partnership Program for an off-the-record discussion on Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism efforts. Also in attendance was Prince Musab Al Saud, Director of the Office of Political and Congressional Affairs at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.
His Highness Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud
Ambassador Abdullah Al Saudis the nephew of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. He received his education in Saudi Arabia and studied engineering in the United Kingdom. He started his professional life as an engineer with the newly established Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, where he held technical and managerial positions and supervised key studies for the two industrial cities and for the industrial security and safety sector. In the 1980s, he assumed the duties of Acting Secretary General of the Royal Commission, a post he held until 1987, when he was appointed Secretary General. In January of 1991, he was promoted to the position of Chairman, a role in which he also served as Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Commission and Chairman of its Board of Directors.
He presented his credentials to U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on Jan. 28, 2016.
Mr. Nawaf Althari
Mr. Althari is the Saudi Arabian Counter Terrorism expert at the United Nations. Nawaf served as the Head of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) during the Kingdom’s chairmanship of the organization in 2014/2015. As chair of the organization, he was responsible for negotiating several resolutions that served the 56 state membership and elevated the status of the organization by facilitating the resolution of cooperation between the UN and the OIC.
He is currently the coordinator of the OIC for all Counter Terrorism matters at the UN and has represented the OIC in the review of the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, The discussion of the Secretary General’s plan on Preventing Violent Extremism in Geneva, and many other relevant legal and CT resolutions.
He currently serves as the Counter Terrorism and Counter Piracy Focal Point, heading the expert advisory board of the UNCCT (United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre) where he oversees the projects of the centre that cover multiple dimensions of the CT field, including capacity building, countering violent extremism, preventing online radicalization and dealing with foreign terrorist fighters directly. He has engaged major players in the private sector such as Google and Facebook to help foster dialogue and provide a unique perspective to the field of online radicalization.