Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, speaking at the 2015 World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa, declared that the rise in extremism is the result of a decline in the values of justice.

Speaking in the presence of King Abdullah of Jordan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and more than 1,000 government officials, business representatives and civil society leaders, the President stressed the need to tackle terrorism by providing equality and freedom.

“Intellectual stagnation caused by extremism,” the Egyptian President said, increased due to “despair, frustration and decline in the values ​​of justice.”

Sisi added that to eradicate terrorism, the Middle East and the world must take efforts that ensure a future “full of freedom, equality and pluralism, free from oppression, injustice, and exclusion.”

The Egyptian President, who has been waging a crackdown on Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, since the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013, told the conference that close cooperation between business, government and civil society leaders is required to ensure the challenges facing the Middle East and North Africa are adequately confronted.

Among the areas that must be focused upon, specifically, is the eradication of poverty, said the President.

Importantly, President Sisi noted that all sectors must focus on empowering the youth of the region.

“The challenge posed by the issue of investing in youth is not just an item on the agendas of governments, but a key issue that should constitute an area of cooperation and integration of efforts between the government and business sectors. We are all in the same boat.”

In Egypt, the President said the government has already started implementing a “comprehensive development program until 2030” that is designed to mobilize the youth and stimulate investment in Egypt.

Earlier on Friday, the Egyptian President announced that the 2016 WEF on the Middle East and North Africa, which held its 16th session this year at the Dead Sea in Jordan, would be held in Egypt.

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