UN Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov, Minister for Home Affairs Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation José Manuel Albares have inaugurated the Madrid headquarters of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office.
After the inauguration ceremony, Albares, Grande-Marlaska and Voronkov toured the facilities of the new Counter-Terrorism Office, which the Minister for Foreign Affairs highlighted as "an important milestone after several years of close work with the UN to strengthen the fight against terrorism through multilateralism".
The Minister for Home Affairs reiterated the Government of Spain's support for the activities of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office, stressing "Spain's firm and unquestionable commitment to the fight against terrorism and the protection and assistance of its victims".
Voronkov thanked Spain for its support for the work of the Counter-Terrorism Office, underlining "the need to strengthen international cooperation against terrorism, to which the Madrid Office of the Counter-Terrorism Office will actively contribute".
The new Programme Office of the Counter-Terrorism Office focuses on providing technical assistance and capacity building projects to countries around the world. It will focus in particular on the fields of protection of vulnerable targets, including critical infrastructure and public places, prevention of violent extremism, including through sport and youth participation, promotion and protection of human rights and support to victims of terrorism.
The office also focuses on facilitating bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the fight against terrorism. It will also be able to draw on Spain's experience and best practices in the fight against terrorism to help implement these programmes in the beneficiary countries.
The Counter-Terrorism Office and the Government of Spain signed the Host Country Agreement and the Premises Agreement to establish this Programme Office in Madrid in June and September 2022, respectively.
Within the framework of his visit and also in connection with this new office, Voronkov held meetings with the heads of the Spanish National Intelligence Centre, Esperanza Casteleiro; of the Department of National Security of the Presidency of the Government, General Miguel Ángel Ballesteros; and of the Centre for Intelligence against Terrorism and Organised Crime of the Spanish Ministry of Home Affairs, General Manuel Navarrete.
Non official translation
The Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares and the UN Under-Secretary-General, Vladimir Voronkov