BAGHDAD CONFERENCE: MIDDLE EAST LEADERS PLUS FRANCE TO TALK SECURITY, DIPLOMACY

Sat 28 August 2021:

Several Middle Eastern leaders, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, will gather in Baghdad on Saturday for a summit hosted by Iraq, which wants its neighbors to talk to one another rather than settle scores on its soil.

Relations within the region are strained mostly due to enmity between Iran and the US and its Arab Gulf allies on one hand, and the US and its Arab Gulf allies on the other.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi welcomes Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Baghdad

The Iraqi FM Fuad Hussein welcomed his Turkish counterpart Turkeys FM Mevlut Cavusoglu in Baghdad.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi welcomes France’s Emanuel Macron in Baghdad.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi arrives in Baghdad.

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum arrives at the Baghdad Conference2021.

Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah lead the Kuwaiti delegation

The summit’s organizers stated that no diplomatic advances are expected.

“Getting these countries to sit around the table – that will be achievement enough,” said one Iraqi government official.

Heads of state attending included President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, King Abdullah of Jordan, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Macron. Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates sent their heads of government, and Turkey its foreign minister. Saudi Arabia is being represented by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

Macron’s trip to Iraq over two days aimed to support the regional dialogue, meet Iraqi political leaders and visit French special forces involved in the ongoing fight against ISIS.

Iran said it was sending Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

Iranian officials have said they are focused more on the outcome of talks in Vienna with Western powers over Iran’s nuclear program and international sanctions.

“The meeting in Iraq … is only focused on Iraq and how the regional countries can cooperate to help Iraq,” an Iranian official told Reuters ahead of the Baghdad summit.

After former US President Donald Trump killed Iran’s military mastermind Qassem Soleimani in a drone attack at Baghdad airport in 2020, the US-Iran rivalry pushed the Middle East to the brink of war.

Iran-backed militias have conducted increasingly sophisticated drone and rocket strikes against US forces in Iraq, as well as launching drone attacks on Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia has blamed Iran for attacks on its oil installations, which Iran rejects.

Photo: Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi welcomes France’s Emanuel Macron in Baghdad.

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