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Riyadh Meeting Promotes Cooperation in Fighting ISIS | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at a “Meeting of the Ministers of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS: Joint Plenary Session” at the State Department in Washington, U.S., July 21, 2016. (Reuters)


Riyadh – General staff chiefs of fourteen countries of the Global Coalition Against ISIS have pledged to upgrade coordination and promote efforts to “paralyze” ISIS’ capabilities.

A conference of the Global Coalition against ISIS at the general staff chiefs level concluded on Sunday in Riyadh, in the presence of representatives from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Turkey, Malaysia, Nigeria and the United States.

In a final statement, participants said that member countries discussed latest progress in operations aimed at paralyzing the terrorist organization’s capabilities as well as the means to enhance the collaboration of Arab and Muslim countries in the Coalition.

The statement stressed the need to identify and understand the current challenges and emergency developments in the fight against the terrorist group.

It also urged the international community to defend the rights of populations in areas threatened and controlled by ISIS.

Addressing the meeting, General Abdulrahman bin Saleh al-Bunyan, chief of the general staff of Saudi Arabia, stressed the Kingdom’s commitment to support all international efforts against terrorist organizations and groups that threaten the security and safety of the region and the world.

Gen. Bunyan said that Saudi Arabia was one of the countries that suffered most from terrorism.

“But it had always reacted strongly and was ever more determined to continue the fight against all forms of terrorism, taking all necessary measures and working closely with Saudi Arabia’s coalition allies,” he added.

The Global Coalition against ISIS was established in September 2014 and groups 68 countries working jointly to fighting ISIS.

The coalition is taking military action, targeting ISIS’ financial sources and economic infrastructure, and preventing the flow of foreign terrorist fighters across borders.