In the opening speech of the 2nd Baghdad Conference recently held in Jordan, the country's King Abdullah II said, "We believe in the need to achieve stability and a just and comprehensive peace, and to cooperate at the regional level, especially in the economic and development sectors."

"Addressing common challenges requires collective action," he stated, highlighting that the meeting took place at a time when the Middle East region is facing "security and political crises, as well as of food, water and health security, which requires guaranteeing energy supplies, strengthening supply chains and addressing the consequences of climate change."

"The security of Iraq is a fundamental pillar of the security of our region," he added.

Jordan hosted the conference to defuse regional tensions, bringing together regional and international players hoping to help resolve regional crises, particularly in neighboring Iraq. The conference aimed to "provide support for the stability, security and prosperity of Iraq," according to a statement from the French presidency, which initiated the first Baghdad summit in 2021 at a time when the then-Iraqi government of Mustafa al-Kadhimi was trying to foster regional cooperation.

This year, the leaders and officials from Iraq, Jordan, Türkiye, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Iran were in attendance, in addition to French President Emanuel Macron and EU and U.N. representatives. According to the statement from Baghdad, the conference was meant to discuss "cooperation and partnership mechanisms in facing the current economic, security and climate challenges, and the achievement of integration with the countries of the region in terms of services and economic partnership in a way that enhances the security and stability of the region."

The participants expressed their support for enabling Iraq to face all challenges, including the fight against terrorism, and renewed their condemnation of extremism in all its forms. Furthermore, they supported Iraq in consolidating the rule of law, strengthening governance, and building institutions capable of progressing progress and reconstruction while respecting the population's aspirations.

The participants also stressed their support for Iraq's efforts for comprehensive development. They expressed their wish for cooperation with Baghdad in many sectors, including energy, water, electricity interconnection, food and health security, transportation, infrastructure projects and climate protection. In addition, they highlighted the importance of the tripartite cooperation mechanism between Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.

The final declaration underlined the importance of cooperation projects between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Iraq, particularly in the sectors of electricity interconnection and transportation and other regional projects that help achieve economic integration and build bridges with global markets that will positively affect the entire region.

It was indicated that the holding of the Baghdad conference in Jordan reflected a willingness to uphold Iraq's central role in regional economic expansion and cooperation, to end tensions, and build constructive regional relations with mutual benefits. On his part, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said that the meeting represented an opportunity to build on the conference results for cooperation and partnership held in Iraq in August 2021 and to reaffirm support for Baghdad's efforts "on its path towards development and to strengthen its prosperity, security, stability and respect for sovereignty."

"Iraq is committed to building balanced relations of cooperation with all regional and international partners, and distances itself from alignments and escalations," he said and added that Baghdad "opposes anyone who tries to interfere in its internal affairs, to damage its sovereignty or to attack its lands."

"The principle of force cannot be adopted to resolve disputes or disagreements; we do not allow the use of this principle against Iraq, and we do not accept any threat from Iraq against any of the neighboring countries or the region," he specified.

The Iraqi leader mentioned the need for commitment in the fight against "extremist ideology," which requires "real mechanisms and programs" and the problem of water scarcity. "Iraq faces an existential threat due to water shortages. Therefore, we are determined to work with our neighbors in the Turkish republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensure our water security and reach a joint management-by-management agreement of transboundary water resources," he said.

On his part, Macron solicited support for Iraq, saying that the country can take a different path from the "model dictated from outside." The Middle East region is "still paralyzed by blockades, divisions, interference, security problems, and Iraq is one of the main victims of this regional destabilization," he said, urging to "collectively move beyond the divisions of the moment."

The head of European diplomacy, Joseph Borrell, said Iraq could not be a proxy battlefield because it has already been a battlefield for too long. "Now it has to be a builder of regional bridges, helping to reduce regional tensions," he continued.

"Since 2017, the European Union has been contributing to making Iraq stronger and safer through our advisory mission, whose mandate has been extended until April 2024, with a constant focus on strategic advice on security sector reform Iraqi civilian," he added, highlighting that, "The EU is a friend of Iraq and stands ready to support al-Sudani's commitment to undertake comprehensive reform as demanded by the Iraqi people themselves and that a strong, sovereign and democratic Iraq benefits its people, the region, the European Union and the world."

For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said, "The stability and tranquility of Iran are linked to the stability and security of the entire region," stressing that Iran's constant policy is to avoid war and work to restore security and stability. In addition, he touched on the issue of relations with neighboring countries, particularly those of the Gulf. "The administration is using all its strengths to build trust and strengthen the foundations of friendship with its neighbors in the region," he said.

"Iran is ready to lay the foundations for a relationship of trust and cooperate in all dimensions with its neighbors in the Persian Gulf region to establish security and stability," he continued, adding that Tehran is ready to hold a joint meeting of foreign and defense ministers between Iran and the Persian Gulf states and other neighboring countries.

Key coordination

As the Iraqi crisis was the trigger for launching last year's Baghdad Conference, where participants supported the slogan of "restoring the Iraqi state" by re-establishing its stability and security and strengthening the state institutions, this year's gathering stressed the need for coordination between various regional and international stakeholders to confront terrorism and extremism, including setting limits for external interference in the internal affairs of countries, primarily Iraq.

The conference became a model for combining the internal context with the regional and global settings. It reflected the deep connection between Iraq's political, economic, security and demographic aspects, particularly in the Middle East. This was seen in the comprehensiveness of the issues addressed at the summits, the side meetings and the positions in the speeches and statements of the participating delegations.

The importance of Iraq's stability and future became evident and it required focus. Thus the stability of the region as a whole requires expanding the scope of participation to include parties that may not border Iraq but that profoundly influence its affairs. The same concept applies to the involvement of countries outside the region, namely France, which backed the two initiatives due to being one of the European countries most interested in the area.

A space for independence

Consequently, the Baghdad summits gave impetus to the regional and global coordination toward resolving conflicts and filling existing and expected gaps in the Iraqi arena, and preventing any party from exploiting the decline of the direct U.S. presence, whether in Iraq or at other critical or potentially critical areas in the Middle East.

The countries participating in both conferences agreed to support Iraq and strive to establish stability and internal security. Some countries, specifically the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have adopted a developmental approach based on supporting economic projects through practical measures that would help restore the Iraqi economy, revitalize its internal components and improve the living conditions of Iraqis.

However, other countries, like Egypt, Jordan and France, focused on the political perspective of Iraq's stability, rebuilding state institutions and restoring the government's influence domestically or externally. Other countries prioritized specific issues to address, whether about supporting Iraq or confronting transnational threats such as terrorism, as well as the need to curb foreign interference.

The Baghdad summits reflected positive aspects regarding bilateral relations between the participating countries, which will impact regional interactions. Accordingly, the conferences opened the door to the transition of Iraq from being an arena of competition and power struggle between conflicting external forces to a regional platform for understanding and dialogue.