Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani participated Thursday in the ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition against Daesh, hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“Macedonia as part of the Coalition, but also as the current OSCE Chair, is fully committed to the fight against terrorism and prevention of violent extremism, which are an important part of OSCE’s anti-terrorism activities. Macedonia, as a multiethnic and multicultural democracy that fosters a culture of shared coexistence, assigns special meaning to the fight against terrorism through the adopted national strategies on countering terrorism and the action plans which include measures and activities implemented nationwide,” said Osmani.

In his address, the Foreign Minister stressed the need for comprehensive and coordinated activities as a response to the challenges that still exist in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia, despite the significant progress achieved in the fight against ISIS by the Coalition, and reaffirmed the commitment of Macedonia to continue to tackle all security challenges, including the fight against this group and all terrorist organizations through close cooperation with the international community and the neighboring countries.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Osmani held separate meetings with Blinken and the Counselor of the U.S. Department of State, Derek Chollet, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Belgium and Cyprus, Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, Hadja Lahbib and Constantinos Kombos, as well as other high representatives that participated in the meeting.

This year’s ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition against Daesh was attended by 73 representatives of the 86 countries that comprise the Coalition.