French President Emmanuel Macron, addressing the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership that kicked off on Saturday, said the holding of the convention affirms the notion that cooperation and partnership are the basis for achieving regional peace. The French president affirmed that the convention prime goal is aiding Iraq in its bids to bolster stability, combat terrorism, reiterating Paris' backing for the Iraqi security apparatuses. The Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership kicked off on Saturday with participation of heads of state, governments and ministers from nine states including Kuwait and Iraq. Addressing the inaugural session, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhemi said the holding of the convention "embodies Iraq's vision toward establishing the best relations with states of the world on the basis of cooperation and integration." Such an approach is designed to make dialogue the dominant tool for communication, he said, affirming that it is also aimed at basing the ties among the stakeholders on partnerships and mutual respect. In addition to the states' officials, the convention is attended by representatives of the United Nations and the European Union as observers. Macron described on Saturday that Baghdad's Conference was a historic event that will enhance stability in Iraq and the region. He made this statement at a joint press conference with Al-Kadhemi. He stressed that his country was keen on the stability of Iraq, on which its participation in the war against terrorism, reiterating France's commitment to the alliance with Iraq in this field. He pointed out that France through its companies operating in Iraq is contributing to the reconstruction of Iraq, including the Mosul airport project and construction projects in Anbar and other projects. Al-Kadhemi praised the continuation of cooperation with France in several fields such as fighting terrorism, economic partnership, energy, development, education, health during the pandemic. Also Iraqi President Barham Saleh and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Saturday held a meeting discussing regional issues and necessity of resolving crises among states of the region. Iraqi Presidency said in a statement that the two presidents discussed regional topics of joint concern, affirming that the two states concord on necessity of security and stability in the region as well as well defusing crises and tackling tension, hampering prosperity of the regional countries. The statement quoted the Iraqi president as affirming that the Iraqi-Egyptian relations have significantly improved. However, he called for boosting economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries in addition to Jordan. President Saleh said the conference constituted a significant step forward toward boosting cooperation among the regional countries. Issues such as the terrorism challenge, extremism, unsteady economic conditions, health conditions, climatic change and protecting the environment constitute common challenges that need to be addressed with joint efforts, he added. For his part, President El-Sisi expressed solidarity with Iraq and praised the Baghdad government efforts for solidifying security and stability in the region. — KUNA
