UN Central Asia counter-terrorism office should have HQ in Tashkent — Mirziyoyev

Uzbekistan has offered to host a regional United Nations counterterrorism office. Its proposed remit includes assisting Central Asian countries in tracking terrorist financing and responding to online content.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev made the offer on Friday at an Aqaba Process summit meeting in Astana. Five Central Asian leaders and Jordan’s King Abdullah II discussed security risks linked to artificial intelligence.

The proposed branch of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism would help governments set up and run channels for flagging terrorist content.

A regional branch would also help specialists identify cases of terrorist financing, train them and support their use of AI in that work, the Uzbek president’s office has said.

Read more: Uzbekistan will host 2031 UN crime prevention congress

Cyberattacks and online recruitment

In a separate address to participants in the first SCO Plus Expert Dialogue on Security, Mirziyoyev said cyberspace had become a major arena for conflict. He said cyberattacks, disinformation and other attempts to manipulate public opinion increasingly accompanied conventional tactics.

He also warned that terrorist groups use online platforms to spread propaganda, recruit supporters and raise money across borders.

Read more: Which Central Asian nations experience most terrorist activity

King Abdullah launched the Aqaba Process in 2015 to help countries coordinate efforts against terrorism and extremism. Central Asian countries have their own UN-backed counter-terrorism plan, first adopted in 2011 and updated in 2022.