KUWAIT CITY, May 24: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait said on Tuesday the meeting of the Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) Working Group, affiliated to the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS, has made a stride towards working out a joint vision for rehabilitating the FTFs and reintegrating them into their respective communities.

The FTF Group Meeting, hosted by Kuwait and co-chaired by Kuwait, Turkey and The Netherlands, saw the Coalition partners debating intensively a host of counter terrorism issues, according to a press release from the Ministry. The conferees reviewed the latest developments of the fight against the so-called Islamic State (IS or Daesh), including the prosecution of former FTFs and the humanitarian and security situations of women and children living in camps.

They exchanged views with national and international experts, including Kuwaiti experts, on joint action, the best practices in rehabilitation of FTFs, and the efforts to counter terrorism, the statement noted. In his inaugural address to the meeting, Assistant Foreign Minister for Development Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Plenipotentiary Hamad Al-Mashaan stressed the need of building on the joint effort and the founding strategy of the Working Group. He noted that the Coalition partners have made outstanding achievements in minimizing the impacts of the flow of FTFs into conflict areas and developing a clear-cut mechanism for reintegrating FTFS into their communities.

Al-Mashaan highlighted Kuwait’s role, as an effective member of the Coalition, in hosting and chairing several Working Group meetings, as well as the repatriation of 186 FTFs to their respective countries, the statement added. The FTFs Working Group Meeting proved that the 85 partners in the Global Coalition are united in ensuring enduring defeat of Daesh.

Al-Mashaan welcomed all participants in the meeting, and their strategies in finding ways to battle terrorist groups, and he expressed his high hopes in achieving positive results after this meeting as part of a series of meetings held in the past against IS. Furthermore, this meeting discusses all main challenges for the upcoming period and the importance of coordination and information exchange between member countries in alliance against IS. (KUNA)