Terrorism will be a focus of G20 summit - Najib

Speaking at a press conference at the International Media Centre (IMC) at the Kaya Palazzo Hotel here Saturday, Najib said the matter was raised by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in their bilateral talks this morning.

According to Najib, Erdogan had said the G20 discussions would also centre on the question of violence and how the world can enhance cooperation to combat this serious issue.

Following the incidents of violence in Paris which killed 153 people on Friday, Najib said he had stated Malaysia's stand to continue cooperating with France and other countries to confront this serious threat.

"Malaysia's stand is clear and we condemn any form of violence, more so against innocent civilians," he said.

Najib said Malaysia is firmly with other countries in not only condemning but taking action to eradicate, prevent and avoid such incidents from continuing to occur.

"I will be sending a condolence letter to President Francois Hollande over these heart wrenching incidents and state Malaysia's stand to continue cooperating with France and other countries which face such serious threats," he said.

Najib, as ASEAN chairman, today paid a courtesy call on Erdogan who is chairing the 10th G20 Summit from Nov 15 to 16.

Touching on the issue of violence, Najib said Turkey also faced such threats and there was a case of bombing in the Turkish capital Ankara recently in which more than 100 people were killed as well as problems in the southwestern part of the country.

Apart from this, Turkey is also facing a serious problem of refugees and has to accommodate 2.5 million people displaced from Syria and Iraq.

"They (Turkey) have spent an enormous sum (to handle this problem) but only received US400 million (RM1.76 billion) from other countries.