The Kingdom of Spain hosted a meeting in Madrid with senior diplomatic officials from the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS/Daesh. Spanish Deputy Minister of Foreign and Global Affairs Diego Martínez Belío opened the session, emphasizing the global importance of countering ISIS/Daesh. The meeting was co-chaired by Director General of Foreign and Security Policy Alberto Ucelay and United States Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism Gregory D. LoGerfo.
During this single-day meeting, Coalition members reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing collective efforts to disrupt foreign terrorist travel, operational planning, financial support networks, and recruitment efforts. They addressed security risks in Syria related to detained ISIS/Daesh fighters and civilians in displaced persons camps in the northeast. The Coalition remains committed to countering ISIS/Daesh in post-Assad Syria through increased border security, information sharing, and repatriation efforts.
The disruption of ISIS/Daesh travel and its capability to carry out external attacks was prioritized. Members welcomed the creation of the Coalition’s Terrorist Travel Working Group, which held its inaugural meeting hosted by INTERPOL on May 27-28. This initiative aims to align foreign counterterrorism policy with international law enforcement efforts. Additionally, lines of effort from the United Kingdom and Türkiye-led ISIS-Khorasan Province Diplomatic Grouping were incorporated into the Coalition's agenda.
Uzbekistan was welcomed as the newest member of the Coalition for its leadership in addressing threats posed by ISIS-Khorasan before they reach other regions like Europe and the United States. African members urged regional initiatives to counter affiliates in sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria highlighting cooperation areas with the Coalition to disrupt financial support networks and counter terrorist travel within sub-regions.
To address changing operations and recruitment strategies by ISIS/Daesh, discussions included mitigating emerging threats from internet use and leveraging new technologies for counter-terrorist purposes. Best practices such as reducing radicalization within diaspora communities were also considered.
Delegations endorsed restructuring mechanisms within the D-ISIS Coalition to effectively counter threats from ISIS/Daesh. This includes revising working group mechanisms focused on terrorist travel disruption, financial network interference, recruitment prevention, and regionally focused groups for Syria and Iraq, Central Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.
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