Meeting with European External Action Service Deputy Managing Director Maciej Kobayashi

The IIJ was honoured to welcome Deputy Managing Director Maciej Kobayashi of the European External Action Service to our headquarters in Valletta for a courtesy visit.

As a valued partner and Governing Board Member, Executive Secretary Naoufel Gaied expressed his sincere appreciation for the European Union’s continued support and expertise to strengthen rule of law–based counter-terrorism responses.

Through the European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), the EU supports the IIJ’s global initiative, CT PHARE – Platform for Human Rights Engagement, which delivers human rights-based counter-terrorism capacity-building and policy support to beneficiary countries and regions through October 2026.

The EU has also entrusted the IIJ with a new initiative, Advancing Women in CT, running until October 2028. The programme aims to strengthen the full, equal, and meaningful participation and leadership of women in counter-terrorism efforts through a global network of practitioners and experts, while supporting the development of a @Global Counterterrorism Forum framework on women’s leadership in counter-terrorism.

In addition, the EU supported a three-year FPI-funded project to  advance a comprehensive approach to the prosecution, rehabilitation, and reintegration (PRR) of individuals returning from Iraq and Northeast Syria. Throughout this project the IIJ provides specialised expertise and operational support to strengthen criminal justice responses in line with international standards and human rights obligations.