KUWAIT, Oct 27 (KUNA) -- Foreign Undersecretary Khaled Al-Jarallah said a Coalition Communications Conference, held on Monday, aimed at developing plans of international partners to eliminate the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and other extermist groups.
Al-Jarallah's remarks came in a joint statement by representatives from 14 countries, who met in Kuwait to explore how to strengthen cooperation among coalition partners to countering ISIL messaging and combatting violent extremism in the region.
Kuwait, said the statement, believes coalition partners should work at individual and collective levels to disclose ISIL's "destructive and barbaric nature." The statement quoted General John Allen, US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, as reaffirming President Barack Obama's strategy to countering ISIL's ideology, which was based on hatred and violence.
The US delegation to the conference, led by Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel, reviewed proposals to boost cooperation among coalition partners.
He said the coalition partners discussed measures adopted by their governments to boost capabilities against ISIL extremist messaging, development of exchange and training programs.
Participants, he added, underlined importance of encouraging religious clerics, civil society leaders and youth who were against ISIL.
The coalition partners expressed commitment to UN Security Council resolutions 2170 and 2178 resolutions regarding the crack down against terrorism in the region and foreign fighters.
Senior officials from Bahrain, Egypt, France, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Britain and the UAE attended the conference.
Nasser Al-Muzayyen, Director of the Foreign Ministry's GCC Department, said the Coalition Communications Conference aimed at cementing cooperation among partners to fighting ISIL and extremism in the region.
At a joint news conference with Stengel following the one-day conference, Al-Muzayyen the meeting reaffirmed Kuwait's call on partners to work individually and collectively to disclose the "destructive and barbaric nature of this group." Stengel underlined Kuwait's important and active role in supporting the international coalition financially and logistically in the war against ISIL, which was controlling large swath of lands in Iraq and Syria.
Stopping foreign terrorist fighters from joining ISIL is a collective responsibility among partners, he said.
Partners focused on use of effective technologies to stop recruitment and attracting of foreign fighters, he said.
Stengel said Iran was a major country in the region, and all parties that wanted to contribute to the coalition were welcomed. (end) kt.bs