Following Sudani’s visit, Egypt backs Iraq’s return to Arab fold

Ahmed Adel

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani seeks to consolidate his country’s relations with Arab countries, especially neighbouring countries.

He is also part of a continuous quest to recover and rebuild Iraq after it succeeded in defeating ISIS.

Al-Sudani visited Cairo this weekend and met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The Iraqi premier and the Egyptian leader discussed ways to strengthen relations between their two countries.

During his visit to Cairo, al-Sudani discussed a host of files, including trade exchange, electricity interconnection, oil and gas, and increasing mutual investment.

This, he believes, will open great prospects for the two countries.

Bright spot

International affairs specialist, Mohamed Rabie al-Dehi, said the Iraqi prime minister’s visit to Cairo constituted a bright point in the way of strengthening relations between the two countries in the light of the tripartite coordination mechanism between Cairo, Baghdad and Amman.

The mechanism, he said, aims to strengthen joint cooperation between the three capitals in all political, economic and security fields.

“The visit carried in its entirety a set of important connotations, represented by the continuation of Egypt’s support for the return of Iraq to its Arab surroundings,” he told The Reference.

Egypt, he added, is keen to strengthen security and stability in Iraq, especially given the fact that Iraqi parties view Egypt as an honest party in any crisis, one that only wants to achieve Iraq’s stability and security.

“Egypt believes that it is the gateway to the Arab region in the face of Iran,” al-Dehi said.

Arab and international openness

In the same context, Iraqi political researcher Doaa Hamid said al-Sudani’s government is open to cooperation with all countries.

“This was the same approach of the Kadhimi government before,” she told The Reference.

She added that Iraq’s relations with Egypt are in constant development at the economic and security levels, especially given the successes achieved by Egypt in eradicating terrorism.

She noted that al-Sudani’s visit to Cairo comes after he visited France.

“This reflected Baghdad’s desire to diversify partnerships with major countries,” Hamid said.

She added that Egypt’s position is firm in all issues concerning Iraq, especially the fight against terrorism, ending the existence of armed organizations, and consolidating the principle of security and stability in the Arab region as a whole.