Turkey and America Co-Host 5th Ministerial Plenary of the Global Counterterrorism Forum

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoğlu co-chaired the Fifth Ministerial Plenary of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), an action-orientated platform committed to strengthening international co-operation and mobilizing expertise and resources to address civilian-focused counterterrorism priorities.

Ministers and other senior officials from the Forum’s 30 members (29 countries and the European Union) and the United Nations underscored the practical and strategic nature of the GCTF and highlighted the Forum’s role in addressing three issues of increasing concern: the growing “foreign terrorist fighter” (FTF) phenomenon; the increasing user of kidnapping for ransom (KFR) by terrorist groups; and the growth of violent extremism. Throughout the discussion, members welcomed the ongoing close cooperation between the GCTF and the United Nations, and encouraged it to be further strengthened. In addition, they stressed the Forum’s critical role in facilitating cooperation and collaboration among the international community in mounting a united response to ISIS and other terrorist groups posing a common threat to regional and global security.

Secretary of State Kerry spoke about the need to create effective initiatives to counter the challenges of the terrorism cycle, from the start where young people are indoctrinated by proselytizers to the end, where governments and communities handle returned foreign fighters. He announced the U.S. plan where the goal is to prevent radicalization from occurring. He cited Minnesota as an example, where the local governments have created mentoring programs, and offered help securing jobs, in an effort to stop citizens from joining foreign terrorist groups. Kerry stated “we are the solution. It has to come from us”.

Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Cavusoğlu spoke after Secretary of State Kerry, explaining the second proposal of the day. He announced that a clearinghouse mechanism (a worldwide network of government and partner organizations facilitating scientific and technical cooperation through information exchange) would be created within the GCTF for counterterrorism and countering violent extremism capacity-building assistance.