A meeting was held in Jordan yesterday at the Dead Sea attended by regional leaders and representatives of the EU, the UN, the Arab League, the OIC and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The Iraqi prime minister, closer to Tehran than his predecessor, wants “balanced relations” with everyone. The head of Iranian diplomacy speaks of “friendship” but attacks those who fuel the protests for Mahsa Amini.
Amman () – Carry forward the decisions made at the first Baghdad Conference that took place last year and collaborative relations with Iraq, supporting its security, stability, sovereignty and democratic and constitutional path along with the invitation to reduce ties with Iran, to help resolve the multiple crises afflicting the Middle East. These are some of the contents enunciated in the Final Declaration of the II Baghdad Conference, which was held yesterday at the Dead Sea, in Jordan.
The event was attended by King Abdullah, French President Emmanuel Macron, Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’a al Sudani and representatives from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Iran itself. They were joined by the secretary general of the Arab League, the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council and officials from the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the European Union.
Yesterday’s meeting follows the first, in August 2021 in the Iraqi capital, and was supported with particular interest by France and the Baghdad government itself. It was also one of the first major commitments of the new prime minister al-Sudani, appointed in October after more than a year of political stalemate, who is seen as “closer” to Tehran than his predecessor Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. “Iraq is committed to building balanced relations of cooperation with all regional and international partners, and distances itself from alignments and escalations,” said Prime Minister al-Sudani, who once again condemned all those who try to “interfere in internal affairs” of the country, affect its sovereignty or attack its territory.
The attendees confirmed their support for Iraq, including the fight against terrorism, a topical issue after the ISIS attacks in recent days. Then there is the issue of development in various sectors, including -explains the press release- “energy, water, electrical interconnection, food and health safety, transportation, infrastructure projects and environmental protection.” “Those present – the text continues – highlighted the importance of the tripartite cooperation mechanism between Jordan, Egypt and Iraq and of the economic projects launched, in the first place the electrical interconnection”.
The Final Declaration then underlines the importance of cooperation projects between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman) and Iraq. In addition, the holding of the conference in Jordan reflects the will to support the central role of Iraq “in the expansion and regional economic cooperation”, to put an end to tensions and to form regional relations “constructive with mutual benefits”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian also participated in yesterday’s conference, and again insisted on the issue of collaboration, which is not an option but an urgency. “Security,” he added, “cannot be bought or imported, the era of adopting the wrong policies is over.” He also raised the issue of nuclear energy, reiterating its “peaceful” nature, attacked those who foment internal protests (linked to the death of Mahsa Amini) and stressed the importance of continuing the dialogue with the Gulf countries to “create trust and strengthen the foundations of friendship”. For now, only words, while on the ground divisions and conflicting objectives are deepening the fractures in the Middle East.
