The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its generous support to the international organization and its strenuous efforts to fight terrorism. Guterres was speaking at the sixteenth meeting of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Center Advisory Board in Riyadh on Tuesday. “I want to express my deep gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its generous support to the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Center, a support without which the Centre would probably never have been able to be born,” he said. The UN Secretary-General noted that the meeting was an opportunity to look at means to enhance the center’s capacity-building assistance to Member States to counter the evolving threat of terrorism. Guterres said that while military and security measures against terrorism were essential, “the underlying conditions that are conducive to young men and women being lured by terrorism and violent extremism” must be addressed. “No one is born a terrorist, and nothing justifies terrorism, but we know that factors such as prolonged unresolved conflicts, lack of the rule of law and socioeconomic marginalization can all play a role in transforming grievances into destructive action,” he stated. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir underlined the role assumed by his country in countering terrorism and drying up its financial sources, pointing out that Saudi Arabia was a key partner of the UN and the international community in this fight at all levels. “Saudi Arabia is a major partner of the United Nations and the international community in the fight against terrorism at all levels. My country has contributed to the efforts and financing of many counter-terrorism initiatives worldwide, the most recent of which is an assistance worth 100 million Euros to combat terrorism in the Sahel countries in Africa; it has also established the Islamic alliance to combat extremism and terrorism, which includes more than 40 countries and is based in Riyadh,” Jubeir said. “The Kingdom continues to play an active role in the international coalition against ISIS,” he added.