Terrorist threat tops agenda at G20
Print Edition
WORLD leaders yesterday promised to tighten border controls, step up intelligence sharing and crack down on terrorist financing at a summit in Turkey, though there was little sign of a dramatic shift in strategy against Islamic State in Syria.
The G20 summit in Antalya has been dominated by Friday’s suicide bombings and shootings in Paris, which killed 129 people and underlined the threat posed by the jihadist group beyond its strongholds in Syria and Iraq.
“The horrific attacks in Paris on Friday night underline the threat we all face,” British Prime Minister David Cameron told a news conference.
“We have agreed to take further steps to cut off the financing that terrorists rely on, to counter the extremist ideology ... and to better protect ourselves from the threat of foreign fighters by sharing intelligence and stopping them from traveling,” he said.
United States officials said Washington wanted to intensify efforts against Islamic State, including bombing and arming Syrian rebels. President Barack Obama will meet with European allies at the end of the summit to try to shore up a common front.
Concerned about the “growing flow” of jihadists, the G20 leaders agreed to step up border controls and aviation security, according to a statement released yesterday at the end of the two-day meeting.
They condemned the Paris attacks as “heinous” and said they remained committed to tackling terrorist financing.
“We agreed that the challenge cannot just be tackled militarily, but rather with multiple measures,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, adding this involved intelligence service cooperation and surveillance of online communications.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged the leaders at a dinner on Sunday to deepen information sharing and said leaders in the Muslim world must do more to break the perception that terrorism is affiliated with Islam.
Turkey has come under pressure from Western allies to ramp up its fight against Islamic State and tighten control of its 900-kilometer border with Syria.
Turkey, however, has long complained about a lack of intelligence sharing. An official said Ankara twice told France of one of the Paris attackers, but received a request for more information only after Friday’s attacks.
Leaders also affirmed that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, or ethnic group.
President Xi announced yesterday China will host the 2016 G20 summit in the eastern city of Hangzhou on September 4-5. China will take over the presidency of the G20 next month.
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