‘Cairo for bolstering int’l efforts to eliminate Daesh threat’

Speaking to a ministerial-level meeting held in the Italian capital of Rome of the International Coalition against ISIS Monday, Minister Shoukri made it clear that ISIS still poses a real danger despite the success that has been achieved in terms of liberating large areas of the lands controlled by the terrorist organization in Iraq and Syria, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said.

Delegates from more than 80 countries, including the foreign ministers of the Coalition’s member-states, took part in the ministerial conference which convened to discuss the joint efforts to confront Daesh.

In his statement to the conference, FM Shoukri stressed Egypt’s full commitment to supporting the coalition’s efforts through adopting a comprehensive approach to combating terrorism. This approach, he explained, is not based only on the security dimension, but also takes into consideration the intellectual dimensions through reforming and modernizing religious discourse and dismantling the erratic speech that terrorist elements adopt.

In this regard, Minister Shoukri noted the role played by Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in refuting flawed interpretations of religious texts and interpreting the texts in a manner that corresponds with sound Islamic teachings, spokesman Hafez said.

Minister Shoukri also expressed Egypt’s concern over the increasing activity of ISIS-affiliate groups in some areas of the African continent, stressing that Egypt is committed in this regard to strengthening cooperation with African countries in the field of combating terrorism.

Concluding his statement, the foreign minister affirmed Egypt’s full commitment to the goals of the coalition, its support for efforts to achieve stability and reconstruction in Iraq and Syria and its resolve to eliminate all terrorist groups that embrace Daesh’s ideologies and objectives, spokesman Hafez said.