Emmanuel Macron and Jean-Yves Le Drian, in Beirut on September 1, 2020. -

Stephane Lemouton / AP / SIPA

Every month a visit from a personality of the French executive.

After the Minister of Foreign Affairs in July and the Minister of the Armed Forces in August, it is the turn of the President of the Republic to come to show France's support for the authorities in Baghdad.

Emmanuel Macron is making his first visit to Iraq this Wednesday, with the intention of helping this country to assert "its sovereignty".

A quick visit

Coming from Beirut, the head of state will spend only a few hours in Baghdad, where he will be received by the main officials of the country.

He will be the first foreign head of state to visit Iraq since the appointment in May of a new prime minister, Moustafa al-Kazimi.

For security reasons, the French presidency only confirmed this visit at the last minute, which had been announced by Iraqi officials and media.

By officializing it Monday evening from Lebanon, Emmanuel Macron specified that he would launch in Baghdad, "in connection with the United Nations, an initiative to support a process of sovereignty".

This "fight for the sovereignty of Iraq is essential" to allow "this people and this country which have suffered so much" to "not give in to the fate of domination by regional powers and by Islamist terrorism", he explained in Paris on Friday.

The role of the United States and Iran

This country has been caught for years between its two most influential partners, Washington and Tehran.

Iraq, which saw the emergence of a powerful popular protest movement last year, is also facing difficult economic times.

The second-largest producer of OPEC, it has been strongly affected by the fall in oil prices and the coronavirus has further aggravated the difficulties.

In Baghdad, Emmanuel Macron is expected to meet with Prime Minister Kazimi but also with President Barham Saleh, before a lunch shared with other officials.

His message should echo that of his head of diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, who stressed during his visit the need for Iraq to "dissociate itself from the tensions of its neighborhood".

On August 27, the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, also held talks in Baghdad and Erbil, capital of the Kurdish region, recalling in particular the importance of continuing the fight against the jihadist group Islamic State.

However, unlike most foreign officials visiting Iraq, the president will not visit Erbil and hopes to meet Kurdish leaders in Baghdad, according to Iraqi sources.

Emmanuel Macron's visit also comes as US President Donald Trump on August 21 reaffirmed his desire to withdraw US troops from Iraq, but without specifying a timetable.

Some 5,000 American soldiers and diplomats are still deployed there.

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