President Salih affirms Iraq's steadfast approach to establish balanced relations

INA - BAGHDAD

President Barham Salih welcomed his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, as he wished him to have a fruitful and successful visit.

Salih and Macron reviewed the honor guard during an official welcome ceremony, in which the national anthems of the two countries were played.

The two leaders held bilateral talks, and deliberated the friendly relations and ways of developing them, and agreed to broaden the horizons of constructive cooperation across all the fields so as to serve the interests of the both nations.

The recent developments on the both regional and international scenes and issues of common concern were also discussed.

Salih confirmed the importance of establishing the best relations with France, based on understanding, coordination and on the ground of the depth of the historical ties.

Furthermore, he highlighted that Iraq is committed to its unwavering approach to build a balanced relation with neighboring, friendly States and allied nations.

“Therefore, we strengthen values based on collaboration and partnership in the economic and investment areas as a way to build bridges of understanding and to close divides among the peoples of the region,” said Salih.

He added, “We do believe that Iraq has adopted a policy of neutrality with all states; as well as it is clear that political will can't be forced upon any countries,”

President Salih expressed that he looks forward with interest to the support of the international community for Iraq's efforts on strengthening its sovereignty, maintaining its security as well as preventing military violations of its territories.

“Our collective efforts should be focused on respecting the sovereignty of countries and to non-interfering in their own internal affairs as a common interest for all to promote regional security,” he said.

Moreover, he asserted that it is essential that “our joint action needs to be come together to continue the war against terrorist forces, to dry up their funding and to counter the extremist thought in the ways that bring about stability and peace to the peoples of the region”

He praised France's vital role in the international coalition against terrorism as a key partner of Iraq in its war against the Daesh terrorist gangs.

President Macron, in turn, emphasized that France stands with Iraq to preserve its sovereignty, security and independence. He noted the importance of continuing cooperation and coordination in the war against terror, in addition to preventing the return of its threats to the world's peoples.

“There is a need to redouble the international efforts to achieve peace and to prevent tension in the region,” he added.

The two sides held extensive talks in the presence of Iraqi and French delegations. They stressed that it is essential to enhance their bilateral ties, to widen their cooperation and economic partnerships, to stimulate investment, to learn from mutual experiences as well as coordinating the joint efforts to combat the Coronavirus pandemic and to reduce its epidemiological, health and economic consequences.

During the meeting, emphasis was placed on boosting the international efforts to defuse tension and to de-escalate the situation in the region in order to achieve stability, peace and prosperity regionally and internationally.