Iraq and France discuss bilateral cooperation in combating crime and drug trafficking

Baghdad - INA

The Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq and the French Ministry of Justice discussed, today, Thursday, bilateral cooperation in combating drug trafficking, while affirming their readiness to continue exchanging expertise in the field of organized crime.

A joint statement by the Supreme Judicial Council and the French Ministry of Justice - received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA) - said: "A symposium was organized in Baghdad on February 4 and 5, 2025 on combating transnational organized crime in Baghdad," indicating that "this symposium was organized within the framework of signing the French-Iraqi strategic agreement on January 27, 2023, where several chapters were allocated to enhance bilateral cooperation in combating organized crime, drug trafficking, and economic and financial crimes."

The statement added that "combating organized crime, alongside combating terrorism, is currently one of the most important threats at the national and international levels," noting that "the ability of criminal networks to adapt and the diversity of their methods of operation in criminal fields, in addition to the profits they generate, have made combating these criminal groups a pivotal issue related to sovereignty, security, economy, environment, health, justice and development." The statement explained that "the French and Iraqi authorities have made this major source of concern a strategic approach", noting that "with this threat, it is a priority that the joint organization of this symposium, which brings together high-level representatives of the most important French and Iraqi judicial institutions (the Directorate of Criminal Affairs and Pardon, the Public Prosecutor's Office in Paris, the National Financial Prosecution, investigating judges from the Judicial Court in Paris, the Directorate of Criminal Assets Recovery, the National Directorate of the Judicial Police in France, the Baghdad Courts of Appeal and the Iraqi Public Prosecution, provided a renewed opportunity to enhance technical and judicial cooperation between France and Iraq)."

He stressed that "by enhancing the exchange on the different models of judicial organization in combating organized crime as well as on the criminal phenomena facing the countries, this event allowed for the continuation of constructive dialogue; with the aim of enhancing joint solutions to confront the challenge imposed on us at the present time, which is organized crime".

The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council and the French Ministry of Justice expressed their readiness "to continue exchanging expertise in the field of organized crime and financial crime within the framework of the bilateral criminal working group that was launched on June 1, 2023 in Iraq, and it is possible to organize a symposium Exchange of new experiences in Paris in 2025.