Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan attended the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Rome, co-chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic Luigi di Maio and Secretary of State of the United States Antony Blinken, on 28 June 2021.
At the meeting, Minister Balakrishnan reaffirmed Singapore’s support for the Coalition’s efforts to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS globally and prevent attacks from returning foreign terrorist fighters. Notwithstanding ISIS’s territorial defeat in Iraq and Syria, ISIS retains a diffused global presence, exploiting the digital sphere to extend its networks and propagate extremism. Vigilance is therefore still needed.
Singapore remains committed to global and regional efforts to prevent and counter the rise of radicalisation and violent extremism. Minister Balakrishnan highlighted Singapore’s efforts to counter terrorism through close community engagement and domestic security response preparedness, as well as enhance international intelligence sharing through the establishment of the Counter-Terrorism Information Facility in Singapore. The full text of Minister Balakrishnan’s remarks is appended.
Minister Balakrishnan also met a number of counterparts on the sidelines of the conference, and had bilateral meetings withMinister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic Nikos Dendias and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.