French FM makes first visit to Iraq

Fouad Hussein and Jean-Noel Barrot (AP)

Baghdad: France‘s international minister Jean-Noel Barrot will meet officers in Baghdad on Wednesday as a part of a regional tour to push for a two-state resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli battle.
The French international ministry mentioned in an announcement that Barrot, who may also visit Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, is on a tour to assist “prepare for the international conference for the implementation of the two-state solution” that Paris will co-organise in June with Riyadh.
French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned earlier this month that France deliberate to recognise a Palestinian state, probably as early as June.
He mentioned he hoped it will “trigger a series of other recognitions”, together with of Israel.
Iraq has lengthy recognised a Palestinian state, however has by no means recognised Israel and doesn’t have formal relations with it.
For a long time, the formal recognition of a Palestinian state has been seen because the endgame of a peace course of between Palestinians and Israel.
On his first journey to Iraq, Barrot will meet his counterpart Fuad Hussein and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Baghdad earlier than heading to the northern autonomous Kurdistan area to meet with its leaders.
The visit to Baghdad will permit France to put together for the third model of the Baghdad Conference on regional stability, which Paris has been co-organising with Baghdad since 2021.
It additionally goals to verify “France’s commitment to the stability of Iraq and its role” in sustaining regional steadiness.
It may also permit “France to reaffirm its commitment to continue the fight against” the Islamic State group, particularly “in a context of transition in neighbouring Syria”, and Washington’s determination to halve the variety of its troops in Syria.
France has deployed troops in Iraq as a part of the US-led worldwide coalition arrange to struggle IS, which was defeated in Iraq in 2017 though a few of its jihadist cells stay lively.
Baghdad is now in search of to finish the coalition’s mission and change it with bilateral navy partnerships with members of the coalition, saying its personal forces can lead the struggle towards the weakened jihadists.