U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will host foreign ministers and senior leaders of the Global Coalition dedicated to defeating the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, on March 22.
Acting State Department Spokesperson Mark Toner said Secretary Tillerson will express the United States' full support of the Coalition’s mission. Defeating ISIS is the U.S.’s top foreign policy priority.
We are at an important stage of the fight and will use this Ministerial to accelerate international efforts to defeat ISIS in the remaining areas it holds in Iraq and Syria and maximize pressure on its branches, affiliates, and networks.
ISIS has unleashed violence and havoc by committing mass murder and terrorizing people in Iraq and Syria. The ensuing chaos unleashed a wave of refugees, in addition to a humanitarian crisis. Defeating ISIS is the initial step in a process to create stability in Syria.
The March 22nd meeting will be the first gathering of the entire Coalition – all 68 members – since 2014. Defeating ISIS requires the support of all members of the Coalition, and Secretary Tillerson plans to stress the importance of their cooperation, as well as their contributions to the effort to eradicating it.
The Ministers will have detailed discussions of the Coalition’s multiple lines of effort, including military, foreign terrorist fighters, counter terrorist financing, counter-messaging, and stabilization of liberated areas, to increase the momentum of the campaign.
Additionally, they will discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Iraq and Syria that are affecting the region.
While the military component plays a significant role in this effort, ISIS can only truly be defeated if there is a sustained global effort along all the lines of effort that have been established and that is what our Coalition is about.
