CANBERRA Mika Zibanejad Womens Jersey , Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government on Thursday announced a 4.6-million- Australian dollar (3.7 million U.S. dollars) plan to block money from making it to terror groups in Southeast Asia.
Australian Justice Minster Michael Keenan has said financial intelligence agency Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) would lead the initiative, which would result in Australia working closely with neighboring countries to prevent money making it to terror groups such as the Islamic State (IS) in Marawi in the Philippines.
He said the 4.6 million Australian dollars would be used to identify "non-traditional" methods of terrorism funding, develop countermeasures, and support local law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
"This money will be used to detect and disrupt funding to Islamic State-aligned terrorist groups Mats Zuccarello Womens Jersey , and I look forward to our international partners joining a new regional counter IS financing group," Keenan said on Thursday.
"AUSTRAC will be building on work already underway with our regional partners, including through the Counter Terrorism Financing Summit.
"AUSTRAC will also work with its industry partners in the Fintel Alliance, a world-first private-public partnership with major financial institutions Henrik Lundqvist Womens Jersey , to prevent funding destined for (Islamic State) being moved through Australia's financial institutions and harden regional financial institutions against this threat."
Keenan said sharing counter-terror information with neighbors was "critical" in the fight against IS and would help prevent foreign fighters from returning "home."
"The Australian government is committed to working closely with our regional counterparts to address the threat of returning foreign fighters and home-grown terrorism in the region," he said.
"The need for greater cooperation with our neighbors has never been more critical."
The minister added that Australia had committed four Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers to the Philippines to support local authorities in the fight against IS, while more would be joining later this year.
LUANDA, Sept. 14 (XINHUA) -- The ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Angola expressed Thursday in Luanda the desire to strengthen bilateral relations between his country and the Angolan government that came out of the August 23 general elections.
Khaled Hassan congratulated the people of Angola for the orderly and mature participation in the electoral process Ryan McDonagh Womens Jersey , which he considered a milestone in the history of democracy in Angola.
Angola held in August 23 its fourth general elections that elected a new president, after 38 years of Jose Eduardo dos Santos rule.
Hassan also stressed the need for enhanced cooperation relations between the two countries in the various fields including trade, social and cultural as well as exchange of bilateral visits.
Angola and Egypt have a longstanding relationship with the Egyptian government being one of the first to open its diplomatic representation in Angola in 1976, shortly after independence in November 1975.