Ministero della Difesa

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"Daesh has not disappeared but, under the unsustainable pressure of its adversaries, it seems to have evaporated, turning itself from a visible presence into an invisible enemy. In other words, the degradation originated by the loss of Raqqa, its capital city, and Mosul and other towns and villages in Iraq has caused the movement to disperse. However, it would be a great mistake to consider it solely as a local phenomenon. The movement retains all its material and ideological potential. That's why I think that continuing to work as one is of critical importance for the Anti-ISIS Coalition  shows that by being united we can achieve significant results in both military and stabilization terms.  

That was the opening of Defence Minister  Elisabetta Trenta's speech at the 4^ edition of the Mediterranean Dialogues – the international conference on security and growth in the Mediterraneo – that has kicked off today in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella.

Minister Trenta held her speech during the panel  dedicated to "Shared Security-: Daesh/ISIS: The day after. Countering a new wave of violent extremism". The debate  was moderated by Rai President Marcello Foa. Other participants were the Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Ali Alhakim, and NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.

"The current military engagement focuses on ISIS remaining pockets of resistance, active in the Euphrates Valley, where operations will last until the beginning of 2019. Once the conventional component of ISIS forces is eliminated, we will have to fight against its sleeper cells and counter the threat originating from the movement of sleepers out of Iraq and Syria", the Minister added

It is of fundamental importance to avoid repeating past mistakes: "In the first place, we should not undervalue the threat. Our interventions must be implemented timely, and, above all, they must tackle the cause and territorial rooting factors of extremism, They must engage local authorities the population and social communities, making them fully accountable for countering the terrorist threat in their territories".

"Italy is proud to be part of the Counter-ISIS Coalition and I deem we must take advantage of the lessons we have  learned so far", Elisabetta Trenta underscored, drawing attention to the importance of "acting as one in a cohesive way", paying special attention to engaging fully and in an inclusive way the local authorities and civilian population in the fight aimed at defeating ISIS.

The event – that will close on Saturday, 24 November- is going to be attended by over 40 Heads of State, ministers, top international organization managers and leaders from the world of economy, politics and culture from over 50 countries.

In the margins of the event Minister Trenta held talks with NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.