LONDON, Jan 16: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Monday Saudi Arabia was playing a vital role in fighting the global war on terrorism.

“Their counter-terrorism achievements over the last two years have been striking not just the disruption of Al Qaeda networks, but crucially also the winning of hearts and minds and the mobilisation of Saudi society against the extremists”, he said.

He was speaking at a two-day conference on “a global response to global terrorism” organized by the Royal United Services Institute here. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal is attending the conference.

Mr Straw said in recent years, the people of Saudi Arabia have faced the horrors of terrorism repeatedly but they remained steadfast and added the Saudi and their Government “play a vital role in the global response to that terrorist threat.”

He said Britain had to learn much from “the many and skilful ways in which Saudi Arabia has, on its own initiative and in its own interests, faced down the perversion of religion which is the seedbed of terrorism.”

Saudi Arabia , he said, had also used its leadership in the Muslim world to encourage others to adopt a similarly comprehensive approach.

“We value highly our close partnership with them”, said Mr Straw.

Referring to the summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference held in Mecca last month, on the initiative of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Mr Straw said “the leaders of the Islamic world gathered there recognised that more needs to be done to protect Islam from infiltration by extremism.”

“They agreed a work plan to support mainstream Islamic thought and to work with local and international communities to promote a positive path for Islam in the modern world. We salute this courageous initiative, the benefits of which will be felt for decades to come”, said Mr Straw.

The current threat of terrorism is greatly different from the past as it, he said “combines global ambition, global reach and powerful means in an unprecedented way.”—APP