Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry is heading to the United States on Wednesday to take part in the anti-ISIS Coalition mini-group meeting due to be held on Thursday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) statement.
"The meeting is expected to tackle the coalition's members' roles and efforts to combat the terrorist organization of ISIS in the light of recent developments in northeast Syria," said MOFA Spokesperson Ahmed Hafez.
Hafez noted that "Shoukry will partake in the mini-group meeting on Syria.
"The Egyptian minister will discuss ways of fostering political settlement and ending conflict for the sake of Syria's unity and integrity," the spokesman added.
Anti-ISIS Coalition
More than 30 nations fighting the ISIS group will gather in Washington in a French-initiated meeting.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for an urgent meeting of the coalition after President Donald Trump told Turkey earlier that he withdrew some 1,000 troops from northeast Syria.
The US official cast the meeting as a way to seek more support from allies -- a key priority for Trump, who often accuses US partners of being free-loaders.
The meeting announcement came after Trump announced the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an attack in Syria led by US Special Forces.
Trump's withdrawal has nonetheless alarmed European allies fearful of a resurgence of the intensely violent group, especially as Kurdish fighters abandoned by the United States had been guarding ISIS prisoners.
The United States has said that more than 100 ISIS prisoners have escaped in the chaos as the United States withdrew and Turkey launched an incursion against the Kurdish fighters, whom Ankara links to separatists at home.
Shoukry in Mini-Group Meeting on Syria
In a joint statement in the last week, the mini-group on Syria welcomed the efforts exerted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his special envoy, Geir Pedersen towards holding the meeting.
It deemed the development a “positive” step that requires a great commitment.
The mini-group includes the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, the UK and the United States.
The 150-member UN-backed Constitutional Committee is composed of regime and opposition members, as well as civil society representative. It is meant to usher in reconciliation after more than eight years of war in Syria.
A sub-group of 45 is charged with drafting a new constitution or revising the 2012 one.
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