Close cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the West to eliminate the remnants of ISIS

Saudi Arabia on Thursday affirmed its continued support for the international coalition efforts to eliminate the “Daesh” terrorist organization in a speech by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan during the ministerial meeting of the US-led Global Coalition against Daesh in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, where Riyadh seeks to strengthen security cooperation with the West, especially Washington, to eliminate the terrorist phenomenon.

“The kingdom always believes that the path to security, stability, development and prosperity requires the continuation of our collective efforts to fight terrorism and its criminal group and confront extremist ideology,” Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV said.

“My country will continue to make every effort to support the coalition’s efforts to eliminate ISIS, eliminate its extensions wherever they are, confront its evil attempts and dry up its sources of funding,” he said.

Referring to Saudi Arabia’s contribution to reconstruction projects in Iraq, the Saudi foreign minister said the kingdom “is fully committed to the stability of those countries where that group was based, including Syria and Iraq”.

“I am pleased to announce that the Kingdom of Morocco has joined the Focus Group on African Affairs to confront the dangers of the organization, in addition to Italy, the United States, Niger and Morocco,” he said.

As part of its efforts to combat the group, Saudi Arabia welcomed the “creation of a focus group on combating ISIS and the Khorasan Province in Afghanistan”.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan criticized what he called the disavowal by some countries of their duty to repatriate their nationals who fought with ISIS, saying, “It is unfortunate and completely unacceptable” for wealthy countries to abdicate their responsibility to repatriate their nationals who were detained during the battle against ISIS.

“That is why I say to those countries: you have to act, you have to take responsibility. Being part of a coalition means working together.”

The “anti-ISIS coalition is bringing together countries from all over the world and has had successes,” Blinken said.

“We thank the kingdom for its great contributions to the defeat of the terrorist group ISIS,” Blinken said, according to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ekhbariya TV. “Keeping foreign ISIS militants in camps threatens the group’s return.”

He called on the countries concerned to take back their nationals from ISIS foreign fighters, saying this step is crucial to the dismantling of al-Hol camp in Syria.

Africa has recorded half the victims of recent terrorist attacks, he said, noting that the emerging dangers of ISIS’s attempts to return to Afghanistan are being watched.

The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS was established in September 2014 to fight the group in neighboring Iraq and Syria, comprising 85 countries and partner organizations.