Cairo – Egypt will participate in the talks hosted by Saudi Arabia on Thursday to discuss means of combating extremist groups within the region.
Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday it will hold talks about militant violence within the region. The talks will be attended by representatives from the United States and Muslim countries.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Badr Abdelatty told Aswat Masriya in a phone interview that Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shokri will head a high-level delegation to take part in the talks. The negotiations between the meeting parties will determine the nature of the alliance expected to be formed to face the threat of the Islamic State, an extremist group currently active on the Iraqi border with Syria.
Other participants in the Jeddah talks will include representatives from Turkey, Jordan and the six member-states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, reported the official Saudi Press Agency. GCC members are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.
The U.S. is pursuing the formation of an Arab alliance to resist the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). U.S. president Barack Obama has called on Arab countries to consider a joint military operation to fight ISIL. Obama has ordered the launch of airstrikes targeting ISIL in Iraq.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was scheduled to begin a visit to the Middle East on Tuesday. Kerry is expected to visit Jordan’s Amman and Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah to discuss the current situation in Iraq, according to a statement by the U.S. state department.
“Secretary Kerry will also consult with key partners and allies on how to further support the security and stability of the Iraqi government, combat the threat posed by ISIL, and confront Middle East security challenges,” the statement read.
Obama is expected to lay out a plan to combat the ISIL during a speech in memory of the September 11 attacks’ 13th anniversary on Wednesday.
“Egypt will not stand hand-tied in front of the proliferation of extremist groups in the region,” the foreign ministry’s Abdelatty said. He stressed the importance of creating a regional and international orientation to face “armed terrorist organisations which threaten the Arab region’s stability.”
Shokri’s participation in the Jeddah talks comes ahead of the United Nations’ General Assembly’s 69th session, which will begin on September 16 in New York. The issue of terrorism is on the General Assembly’s agenda.
ISIL have controlled large areas of Iraq and Syria recently.
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