French President Emmanuel Macron said today, Wednesday, that Iraq is facing many challenges, the most important of which is the Islamic State and foreign interventions that would weaken its government, state, and the interests of its people, stressing his country's full support for strengthening the independence of Iraq
in all its components.
Macron added in a joint press conference in Baghdad with his Iraqi counterpart, Barham Salih, that Iraq is at a pivotal stage in its history, pointing out that the war against ISIS has not ended and is still continuing, and that the organization's fighters are still in the region.
He stressed that "France stands by Iraq because it is in the interest of the international community to support it, indicating that Iraq has a clear reform will."
For his part, Saleh said that Iraq is looking forward to a pivotal and essential role in the region, which must be in a state of stability and security, stressing the need for Iraq not to be a battleground for others, but rather its sovereignty must be respected and not to interfere in its internal affairs.
He stressed that his country still needs support in order to confront terrorism and extremism, adding, "We still have challenges, and we need the support of our friends to rebuild the affected areas and dry up the sources of terrorist financing."
Visit details
Macron arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday morning from Beirut on a visit that lasts a few hours, the first since he assumed his duties as president in 2017, during which he will meet - in addition to Saleh - Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi and Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, and he will also meet in the city of Najaf, the supreme Shiite reference, Ali al-Sistani.
Sources in the French presidency said that the visit will focus on strengthening cooperation between the two countries, especially in the economic, cultural and security fields.
She added that France would support efforts to strengthen Iraqi sovereignty and the security capabilities of the Iraqi armed forces, especially in the field of training.
Macron had said in a press conference in Beirut yesterday that he would visit Iraq today to launch, in cooperation with the United Nations, an initiative to support the "march of sovereignty" in this country.
Iraqi sources said that Macron's visit will focus on Iraqi "sovereignty", in light of Baghdad's endeavor to follow an independent path away from the confrontation between Iran and the United States, and to strengthen its relationship with Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia.
The French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian visited Iraq in mid-July and called on Baghdad to "distance itself from regional tensions."