Jakarta, 23 January 2020. Around 100 top anti-terror experts and security officials from Southeast Asia and South Asia gathered in Jakarta today to discuss ways to prevent the growing threat of violent extremism in the region.

They gathered for a two-day regional workshop organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Indonesia and the Indonesia National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT), through “Preventing Violent Extremism through Promoting Tolerance and Respect for Diversity (PROTECT) project.

Financed by the European Union under a regional programme, the PROTECT project supports the Government of Indonesia to draft the National Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism. The Project also works on youth engagement to promote tolerance and respect for diversity and conducts research on the prevention of violent extremism (PVE) in Indonesia.

The experts and the government officials were from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. They specifically gathered to flesh out good practices and identify challenges for the establishment of the national action plan on PVE.

 “Combating  the growing threat of terrorism in the region will require stronger and broader cooperation among regional partners involving  Asian countries. Such cooperation will help better  understand the drivers of radicalization and violent extremism.” said Marc Vierstraete-Verlinde, Counter Terrorism Expert, EU Delegation.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Andhika Chrisnayudhanto, the Deputy of International Cooperation of Indonesian Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) said the workshop is expected to encourage the countries in the development and adoption of NAP on P/CVE to complement existing PVE strategies. 

UNDP Indonesia Resident Representative Christophe Bahuet underlined the importance of  experience sharing for an effective response to violent extremism.  

“Over the last few years, countries in South-East Asia and South Asia have witnessed an increasing number of  incidents stemming from violent extremism. This regional exchange serves as a platform for Indonesia and participating countries to identify best approaches and measures that can be integrated into the much-needed national action plans. This platform also help strengthen regional cooperation, which contributes to an effective response to violent extremism,” said Christophe Bahuet.

MEDIA CONTACT

UNDP Indonesia, PROTECT Project Manager, Iwan Misthohizzaman, misthohizzaman@undp.org

UNDP Indonesia Communication Specialist, Tomi Soetjipto, suryo.tomi@undp.org

EU Delegation to Indonesia, Press Officer, Tioria Silalahi, tioria.silalahi@eeas.europa.eu

Indonesia National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT), Head Section for Governmental Agencies Cooperation, Danny Wulandari, wulandari.danny@gmail.com