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Rabat – Iraq is hosting a high-level regional peace summit on Saturday, August 28 in a bid to resolve regional tensions ahead of growing climate and security threats.
Iraq has long been the battleground where regional powers settled their differences through warfare. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is attempting to change this historic practice by presenting Iraq as a neutral mediator in tumultuous times. The Iraqi summit, which it co-hosts with France, will bring together leaders from both the region’s most powerful and most vulnerable countries.
On Friday, Iraq’s foreign ministry stated that it “regrets” the current diplomatic crisis between Morocco and Algeria. It urged both sides to “take advantage of anything that would establish stable relations.”
Iraq has long been a place that officials would rather avoid as continuing security threats meant that even Baghdad’s airport faced attacks. Now, the airport is welcoming regional leaders, with Prime Minister Kadhimi eagerly welcoming foreign officials for the high-level summit. Local security services are out in force to ensure the Baghdad summit lives up to its stated intent of promoting regional peace.
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The summit is bringing together the region’s foremost powers, Saudi-Arabia and Iran, two countries who have long seen Iraq as a key battleground for their regional ambitions. The summit will see Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, meet with his Iranian counterparts as part of months of diplomatic efforts to realize a detente between the two rivals.
The Iraqi summit aims to resolve regional tensions ahead of coming crises caused by the effects of the global climate crisis which is set to impact the region heavily. Several attending countries, such as Lebanon and Yemen, are already facing dire effects of climate change, which compounded by political instability produces spiralling social crises.
The summit will be attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, leaders from various Gulf states, and Jordanian King Abdullah II.
Because of the high-level decision-makers in attendance, much of the summit will depend on closed-door sessions in which national leaders and gathered diplomats are expected to agree on new multilateral agreements and memorandums of understanding.
