Terror funding tops Greek security conference

By Idyli Tsakiri

RHODES, Greece (AA) - The way to fight terrorists is to block their funding, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.

Organized crime and trafficking topped the agenda of the second annual Rhodes Conference for Security and Stability.

“We need to destroy those networks which fund terrorist organizations that, also, act against Turkey,” Kotzias told Anadolu Agency.

“To achieve this we need to create a better information network between each other and create a forum about terrorism in the region so we can further develop our actions,” he added.

The two-day conference concluded on Tuesday with foreign ministers and delegations from the Arab, Balkan and Mediterranean region agreeing to meet again next year.

A day after a terrorist attack in the U.K. left at least 22 dead and nearly 60 injured, the participants of the security meeting agreed to set up a working group to tackle security threats in the region.

According to a joint communique, the working group will be composed of senior diplomats who will draw up a plan to fight terrorism, authoritarianism in relations between states, fanaticism and outside interference in a country’s interior affairs.

Energy was another subject widely discussed during the second day of the conference. The participants agreed on the need to increase renewable energy sources in order to alleviate environmental pressures in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Furthermore, they decided on a joint initiative to exploit innovative sectors such as aquaculture and marine biotechnology in order to “impart momentum to the participating countries’ economies,” an unofficial announcement stated.

Representatives of 18 countries and the League of Arab States as well as the Gulf Cooperation Council, attended the conference, almost doubling last year’s numbers.