Jeddah Summit: Iraq strengthens its position in settling the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran

POSTED ON[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] BY [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[size=52]Jeddah Summit: Iraq strengthens its position in settling the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran[/size]

[size=45]Translation: Hamed Ahmed[/size]
[size=45]A report by The National reported that Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi's participation in the Jeddah Security and Development Summit showed Iraq as a major player in the Middle East.[/size]
[size=45]The report, translated by Al-Mada, quoted experts confirming the importance of this participation, and clarifying Iraq's role in balancing Saudi Arabia and Iran.[/size]
[size=45]Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Studies and an expert on Iraq, security and politics, said that "the summit is very important for Al-Kazemi and Iraq to show through it that Iraq can have an effective regional role in the region."[/size]
[size=45]And Prime Minister Al-Kazemi had written in an article published by Foreign Policy this week that he would seek to show a resilient Iraq to the region and the United States. And the report considered, "Al-Kazemi's participation in the summit will enhance his chances of remaining in the position, bypassing the status of his current job as a caretaker."[/size]
[size=45]He added, "This comes at a time when the Iraqi political parties are facing a dead end in front of forming a new government, more than eight months after the general elections were held in October of last year."[/size]
[size=45]The report pointed out that "the summit is considered a continuation of Baghdad's contribution to the regional discussions, which are of fundamental importance to Iraq."[/size]
[size=45]For his part, Hussein Ibish, an academic at the Gulf Studies Institute in Washington, said that "this summit will also be an incentive for any other candidate heading the Iraqi government to continue the same approach as Iraq's foreign policy in balancing the Iranian and American poles and finding ways to reactivate Iraq's role in the world." Arabi."[/size]
[size=45]Abish stressed "the need to re-strengthen Iraq's ties with its regional surroundings, in order to enable Baghdad to revive and rebuild Iraq's economic, diplomatic and political relations with Jordan, and thus revive the tripartite Iraqi-Jordanian-Egyptian alliance in the Middle East and the Arab world, and the return will be beneficial for all parties." On the other hand, Sajjad Jiyad, from the Singery Foundation for Studies in New York, said that "Baghdad's contribution to the summit provides it with a say and an audible opinion in some of the negotiations and discussions that are still ongoing regarding the region."[/size]
[size=45]Jiyad continued, "Iraq is an important country in the region, and therefore the country's contribution to regional summits such as this one will give it the opportunity to define its future and to clarify and highlight the challenges it faces."[/size]
[size=45]Jiyad pointed out that "Baghdad has good relations with Iran and that it wants to maintain these relations and that this relationship does not negatively affect its relations with other countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United States, and that it does not want this relationship to be destabilized by the impact of the deterioration of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia or between Iran and the United States.[/size]
[size=45]Jiyad confirmed, "Al-Kazemi was recently in Saudi Arabia and Iran, and for this I am sure that there are some messages he would like to send to the region." Jiyad added, "The topic of economic cooperation will be at the forefront of Al-Kazemi's business paper at the summit, as many projects have been proposed between Baghdad and the Gulf countries, but the rates of progress in them are few so far."[/size]
[size=45]Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iraq have rapidly improved since Al-Kazemi took over as prime minister in May 2019.[/size]
[size=45]In addition, the researcher on Iraqi affairs, Michael Knights, says, “The Saudi leaders have known Al-Kazemi since he headed the Iraqi National Intelligence Service.” And Knights continued, that “Saudi Aramco was seriously looking forward for the first time to invest in Iraq,” noting that “Saudi Arabia It is ready to give Baghdad equipment that is less expensive than electric power, with new business opportunities with it.” However, Knights finds, "These relations are fragile and may not withstand any major change in the political leadership of Iraq."[/size]
[size=45]Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iraq were severed after the invasion of the former regime of Kuwait in 1990 and were not restored until 2015 when the Kingdom reopened its embassy in Baghdad. However, fears persist after the emergence of Iranian-backed armed factions in the country in 2003.[/size]
[size=45]Academic Ibish explained, "Baghdad's ties now with Saudi Arabia are considered essential, and Al-Kazemi must succeed in highlighting Iraq as an independent country far from any foreign domination, especially Iranian."[/size]
[size=45]And Ibish concluded, "The biggest challenge for Iraqi-Saudi relations from Baghdad's perspective will be how to convince Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries that Iraq is an independent country of importance and should not be a tool or something like that in the hands of Tehran or any other country."[/size]
[size=45]Yesterday, it was announced the end of the work of the Jeddah Summit for Security and Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. During the summit, kings and presidents highlighted the region's issues and the importance of its stability, stressing the need to find a solution to the Palestinian issue.[/size]
[size=45]The summit witnessed the launch of a set of initiatives in the field of peace and development in the region, including the Iraq initiative launched by Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, related to the establishment of the Middle East Bank for Integration and Development through a partnership between the countries of the region and the investment of funds from the oil surplus.[/size]
[size=45]And participated in the Jeddah summit, in addition to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the host country, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, in addition to US President Joe Biden.[/size]
[size=45]About the national news site[/size]
[size=45][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]