The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the Italian Republic on the occasion of the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS.
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The Italian Republic hosted a meeting of senior diplomatic representatives from the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS today in Rome. Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Edmondo Cirielli presided over the family photo. Meeting host Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Political Director Pasquale Ferrara, along with co-host United States Deputy Special Envoy for the Coalition Ian McCary, updated partners on collective efforts to counter ISIS in northeast Syria, Iraq, sub-Saharan Africa, and Central Asia.
The Global Coalition continues to adapt its counterterrorism strategies to reflect the realities of the current threat landscape and today agreed to update its Guiding Principles which highlight the increasing regionalization of Coalition efforts and emphasize the pivotal role of civilian-led initiatives to counter ISIS and its global affiliates.
Members of the Coalition expressed satisfaction with the 2023 Coalition Stabilization Pledge Drive for liberated areas of Syria and Iraq, emphasized the importance of implementing these pledges, and celebrated the Government of Iraq's development into a full counterterrorism partner. To ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS in this region, Coalition members agreed to prioritize respective efforts addressing humanitarian and security needs in displaced persons camps and detention facilities in northeast Syria.
In a collective commitment to defeat ISIS affiliates in Africa, Coalition members agreed to further harmonize efforts with other regional initiatives and endorsed the implementation strategy for the Coalition's Africa Focus Group action plan that intends to enhance African member states' civilian-led counter-ISIS capabilities. The Small Group welcomed the participation of Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Kenya, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo to the session devoted to counterterrorism in Africa.
The Coalition intensified its focus on the threat posed by ISIS in the Central Asian region and underscored the need for members to increase engagement further with non-member Central Asian states to enhance respective border security and counterterrorism capacity in the region. The Small Group welcomed the active participation of Uzbekistan as an observer in Rome.
The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS remains united and resolved in its determination to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS wherever it attempts to operate, and to hold ISIS terrorists accountable under criminal justice systems.
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