UNIPATH STAFF
Located on the shores of the Dead Sea, Jordan’s King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre hosted in December 2022 the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership aimed at supporting Iraq and shoring up regional stability.
High-level officials from Jordan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Iran, France, the European Union and Iraq discussed five dossiers: situations in Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria; counterterrorism; food security; energy; and Iran’s nuclear deal.
In his opening remarks, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani highlighted the importance of enhancing ties among nations of the Middle East. “We meet today in Amman full of hope to continue promoting amities among our countries in all levels in a way that contributes to laying down the foundations of stability, prosperity and development in the region,” Al-Sudani said.
His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein of Jordan stressed the significance of Iraq’s stability to the security of the Middle East, portraying it as “an essential pillar of the region’s security.” Reinforcing the king’s statement, Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman al-Safady viewed the gathering as a continuation of recent efforts by his country to support Iraq.
“Our gathering today comes as a reaffirmation to the firm stance of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan toward the brotherly Iraq and promotes its security, stability, and sovereignty,” al-Safady said. “As you know, Iraq has accomplished a tremendous historic victory over Daesh gangs in the past and has started reconstruction operations in a steady and tangible manner.”
French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the necessity to respect Iraq’s sovereignty and boost its stability, saying: “Iraq probably is, given the past decades, one of the main victims of regional destabilization.” Along the same lines, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said, “the kingdom affirms its total rejection of any aggression on the territory of Iraq.”
Iraq recently arrived at a compromise government after a year of stalemate. Soon after assuming office, al-Sudani embarked on a daunting mission to deliver promises he made to Iraqis to fight corruption, narcotics and terrorism. Other promises include creating jobs, improving essential public services and addressing ethnic grievances that threatened to divide society.
Delivering on the prime minister’s promises, in the largest drug disposal operation in years, Iraqi authorities burned about six tons of drugs in Nahrawan District of Baghdad: piles of cannabis, Captagon pills and cocaine.
In November 2022, the country arrested the first suspects in the theft of public money known as “heist of the century.” Regarding the plundering of the Iraqi public fund, the prime minister vowed to “bring everyone to account whoever proves to be involved, be it politicians or state officials.”
Sources: Al Hurra, Sky News, The Guardian, YouTube