The Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans abroad, Nasser Bourita, participated, on the 4th of June 2020, in the Ministerial meeting of the Restricted Group of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh.
The meeting, co-chaired by the US Secretary of State, Michael R. Pompeo, and Italian Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio, was attended by 30 countries.
Speaking on this occasion, Minister Bourita underlined that Daesh is seeking to take advantage of the situation triggered by the Coronavirus pandemic, in an attempt to organize its return, by increasing acts of violence in several regions of the world, including the Sahel and West Africa.
The Minister called in this regard for increased efforts to ensure the global and lasting defeat of this terrorist group, by depriving it of time, space and resources that are necessary to support its violent actions.
Mr. Bourita stressed the importance of stemming the terrorist threat in Africa, noting, in this regard, that the collective efforts of the coalition have made it possible to wipe out Daesh's territorial ambition in the Middle East.
While sharing with the coalition's members Morocco's assessment of the situation on the African continent over the past few months, the Minister said that Daesh terrorist fighters in Africa use sophisticated weapons, including drones, and seek to control local communities, while trying to bring fighters from other terrorist branches.
He also said that Daesh terrorist fighters in Africa were estimated at 6,000 fighters and that the continent was currently experiencing a sharp increase in attacks in central Africa and the Sahel.
Mr. Bourita, who reiterated Morocco's call for greater attention to the evolution of terrorist activities in Africa, called for providing more support to African countries and their subregional mechanisms in their fight against terrorism.
In this regard, the Minister recalled the conclusions of the consultations held during the regional session on the threat of Daesh in Africa, held in Skhirat, Morocco, in June 2018.
At the end of the ministerial meeting, participants adopted a Ministerial Declaration, in which they reaffirm their commitment to strengthen cooperation across all Coalition lines of effort in order to achieve a full and enduring defeat of Daesh worldwide.
