Defence Minister Adam Shareef has said that there are religious extremists in every country and that Maldives is no exception.

The minister said this on Monday in a speech to inaugurate the counter-terrorism conference held in Male’ in association with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Minister Shareef said that Maldivians love peace and that it was important to stop the spread of extremism in the country, just as in other nations.

He said that Maldives has been affected by the global changes that have occurred in the last 10 years and that the spread of extremist ideologies have created radicals in Maldives.

He also said that the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center has led to a global counter-terrorism effort.

He highlighted that the policy of President Abdulla Yameen’s government is to maintain Maldives as a 100% moderate Islamic country.