(VOVworld) – Officials from Iran, Iraq, and Syria will meet in Baghdad next week, in a bid to strengthen co-operation in the fight against the Islamic State.

Islamic State fighters in Syria

Ali Akbar Velayati, foreign affairs advisor to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, said that there could be important progress in relations between the three countries. Syrian Interior Minister Mohammad al-Chaar said they would discuss strategic co-operation mechanisms, insisting that the fight against the IS requires the highest level of co-operation. A joint communiqué on counter-terrorism is expected to be signed during their up-coming meeting in Baghdad.