President, Meeting France's President Macron, Underlines Iraq's Unwavering Approach to Establish a Balanced Relationship Away from Imposing the Will
President Salih Welcomed today at the Baghdad Palace his French
counterpart Emmanuel Macron, as he wished
him to have a fruitful and successful visit.
President Salih and President 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 broadening 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.
His Excellency 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.
And 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 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.
In the same vein, he praised
France's vital role in the international coalition against terrorism as a key
partner of Iraq in its war against the ISIS.
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.
Presedent