Hagel Thanks Canada for Expanded Contributions to ISIL Fight

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2014 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Canadian Defense Minister Rob Nicholson discussed a wide range of security issues of mutual concern during a meeting yesterday at the Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas in Arequipa, Peru, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said.

In a statement summarizing the meeting, Kirby said the two leaders discussed the ongoing campaign in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, as well as the security situations in Ukraine and the Asia-Pacific region.

“Secretary Hagel thanked Minister Nicholson for Canada's newly expanded missions in support of coalition operations against ISIL in Iraq,” Kirby said, “and both leaders expressed concern about the growing threat of foreign fighters inside ISIL.”

Hagel and Nicholson also discussed regional security challenges in the Americas, including the threat to stability and security posed by climate change, the admiral said. Both agreed on the need for comprehensive and multinational approaches to environmental security, he added.