Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani affirmed Monday during a meeting with Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Jasem Albudaiwi, Iraq's keenness to build serious partnerships with brotherly and friendly countries and their peoples in the region.
The PM also stressed on his government's endeavor to open up to its Arab, regional and international surroundings, and to join efforts in facing various challenges and crises.
Al-Sudani then highlighted the significance of coordination with GCC States and other countries to recover the looted Iraqi funds, and the outlaws wanted by the Iraqi judiciary in corruption cases, as part of the government's plans to combat corruption.
Meanwhile, Albudaiwi said GCC leaders are satisfied with the encouraging policies of the Iraqi government.
Albudaiwi and Al-Sudani also discussed prospects for joint cooperation in various fields, primarily security coordination and drug control, as well as cooperation in the cultural, academic and artistic fields, according to a statement issued by the PM office.
Earlier, the GCC Secretary General affirmed in a joint press conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, the presence of Gulf plans for economic integration, expressing his hope to involve Iraq in some of them.
For his part, Hussein affirmed that Iraq's foreign policy is based on strengthening and developing relations with neighboring countries.
“The current government is working to diversify the economy and provide services, and it has a clear plan to invest in gas,” the Iraqi FM said, pointing out that he discussed with Albudaiwi the Iraqi-Gulf forum, which will be held in Sharjah.
Hussein then called on Gulf companies to invest in Iraq mainly in the gas and petrochemical sectors.
“We encourage Gulf companies to invest in Iraq. We need the Gulf investments and companies in Iraq,” he said. “Iraqi doors are open to the Gulf companies.”
The FM pledged that the Iraqi government will offer guarantees to protect investments in Iraq.
For his part, Albudaiwi invited Iraq to join the Gulf-Iraqi Economic Forum, scheduled to convene on September 27-28 in Sharjah to explore opportunities between the Iraqi government and the private sector in Gulf states.
“We are looking forward to this forum to be the cornerstone for strong economic relations and boost them between the Iraqi and Gulf sides as well as their private sector,” he said.
“The future is glamorous and wonderful for Iraqi-Gulf relations,” Albudaiwi added. “The way is paved and the intentions are sincere, and we all want to take these relations to wide horizons to benefit the brotherly Iraqi and Gulf peoples.”
He also said that the GCC is working to ensure the security and prosperity of Iraq and to strengthen relations.
“We need to move forward in consolidating relations between Iraq and the Gulf countries,” he said, explaining that “the electrical connection with Iraq is an ambitious project.”
Ihsan al-Shammari, Head of the Center for Political Thought, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the recent visits of GCC leaders to Iraq indicate that relations between the two sides have reached diplomatic levels that combine cooperation and coordination in various fields.
He said the two separate visits of Kuwaiti Foreign Minister and GCC Secretary General to Iraq highlight the elevated level of relationships between Gulf States and Baghdad, which kicked off in 2017.
Al-Shammari said the Iraqi-GCC relations are currently dominated by respect and common interests.
“The challenges facing Arab countries, including Iraq, impel more cooperation and coordination between the two sides and they motivate both Iraq and the Gulf states to coordinate their positions,” he said.
Al-Shammari added that the Arab summit in Jeddah and the joint Arab action encouraged Iraq and the GCC States to build a distinguished relationship and to discuss regional files.
He said during his visit to Iraq, the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister discussed bilateral files and also the possibility that Baghdad plays a mediating role to bridge the views between Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran regarding the Dorra field.
“GCC States consider Iraq a fertile land for investment,” Al-Shammari said, adding that the two sides are working to consolidate their relationship mainly through common economic projects.
However, he said this cooperation depends on Iraq, which must put GCC economic plans on the list of its priorities.
