Prince Saud Al-Faisal to take part in Paris anti-terror meeting

Senior officials of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, will attend an international conference on Iraq in Paris on Monday.
“About 25 to 30 countries, that have agreed to join the US-led coalition to crush extremist organizations in Iraq, will participate in the ministerial conference,” said a French diplomat.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Osama Nugali confirmed Prince Saud’s participation in the Paris conference.
Most countries will be represented by their foreign ministers at the conference, which will also be attended by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who participated in the Jeddah conference last Thursday to build a broad coalition against Islamic State (IS) militants.
The French diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that “the issue of security in Iraq, the exchange of information among coalition partners and the humanitarian needs will top the agenda of the ministerial-level conference.”
The event, to be attended by Russian foreign minister, will be jointly inaugurated by French President Francois Hollande and Iraqi President Fuad Masum.
The diplomat said that the conference will also be attended by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council including the representatives of the United Nations and the Arab League. Reports published Sunday said that the conference will seek to apportion roles between nations with often diverging interests so far as the extremist organizations are concerned.
This conference will allow each country to be much more precise about what it can do or is willing to do. Nearly 40 nations have so far agreed to join the fight against terrorism, in some form, including several Arab countries. On Sunday, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said his country will soon deploy 600 military personnel and several jet fighters in the region.
Meanwhile, France condemned the “abhorrent murder” of British aid worker David Haines by the IS. “The killing shows the need for international mobilization against IS,” a French government statement said.