The action of the Saudi government against the terrorist phenomenon has so far proved to be quite effective, both in terms of repression and on measures to tackle radicalisation and to prevent recruitment. As a matter of fact,more than a thousand extremist militants have been arrested in the last two years and multiple attacks have been foiled, such as on the one against the Great Mosque of Mecca on the last Friday of Ramadan in 2017.

Nevertheless, local authorities maintain a level of high alert throughout the country and have intensified controls, adopting several measures in order to protect those places which could easily become the target of new terrorist attacks, such as airports and large shopping centres. Similarly, the infrastructures of the energy and petrochemical sectors have been subjected to hostile actions in the past and continue to be potential targets. In fact, drones piloted by Houthis, the Iran-aligned rebel army, managed to cause explosions at Khurais oilfield and Abqaiq processing facility during last week, shedding lights on Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism (CT) policy.

In the course of our stay in the Kingdom, several questions regarding the safeguarding of national security have been addressed, but not all of them were lucky enough to find an answer. Particularly, issues concerning STC’s cybersecurity strategy and CT policy as well as the possible implication of Saudi institutions and private companies in terrorist activities were never confirmed and answers were pretty vague. However, STC’s chief of communications officer, stated that the company has a CT policy in place and cooperates with authorities in the fight against terrorism. Thanks to a talk given by Dr. Abdullah bin Khaled Al-Saud some insights on Saudi Arabia’s counter-radicalisation strategy were highlighted. In particular, he underlined how the latest legislation adopted in January this year to combat terrorism has expanded existing CT programmes and initiatives to reinsert into society those who have abandoned extremist groups. Likewise, he pointed out how youngsters, educated males who have travelled abroad more than once and who present some specific grievances and needs particularly, are the main people subject to undergo a radicalisation process. Moreover, he focused his talk on why Saudi Arabia represents a crib for terrorists, concluding that it is the point of reference for Sunni Muslims and that the fact that the two Holy Mosques are within the country play a significant role in developing extremist ideas in the minds of some individuals.

I personally believe that further steps towards a more stable and effective strategy to fight terrorism need to be taken. Specifically, in line with the objectives established by Vision 2030, transparency at a national level should be enhanced as well as advancements in the field of cybersecurity must be implemented. Cooperation between the public and private sectors remains pivotal in order for national security to be ensured and a major control on the activity done online is required to reduce the number of young people who get radicalised.

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My name is Tommaso Zonta and I just completed a master’s degree in Intelligence and International Security at King’s College London. I am particularly interested in issues related to transnational security and how these permeate general themes of warfare and international security. What led me to take part to the Gateway KSA programme is a strong desire to know more about Saudi Arabia as an international player. This opportunity led me to interact with people from a variety of different sectors and to overcome some social bias that a person from the West may have, discovering a beautiful country which has much to offer both in terms of business and culture.