Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced the postponement of the “New Mashreq” tripartite summit with Egypt and Jordan, in wake of Friday’s deadly train collision in Egypt.
“We express our deepest condolences to the government & people of Egypt for the terrible train collision in Sohag. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims and we wish the injured a speedy recovery,” he wrote on Twitter.
“In solidarity, we will postpone the summit to the near future.”
Earlier this month, Baghdad successfully hosted Pope Francis on a historic three-day visit. In spite of internal political divisions, it was seeking to follow up the achievement by hosting the tripartite summit, which would have marked the first Arab breach of Iran’s influence in Iraq.
Iraq was highly anticipating the summit, with posters of the Egyptian president and Jordanian monarch lining the streets of Baghdad.
The postponement of the summit triggered reactions from parties close to Iran, significantly after the show of force on the street by an armed group on Thursday.
In remarks on Thursday, Kadhimi had defended the summit, in what was seen as a response to the show of force.
He said that some sides believe that a display of weapons would intimidate and threaten the state.
“Enough wars and weapons,” urged the PM, while acknowledging the political system in Iraq has been a disappointment.
Head of the Center for Political Thinking in Iraq, Dr. Ihssan Shmary told Asharq Al-Awsat that the “New Mashreq” summit is connected to several ideas and concepts.
Among them is Iraq, Egypt and Jordan’s belief that the region will witness a new political, diplomatic and economic shift with the arrival of Joe Biden to the White House, he added.
It appears that the crises in the region will be resolved and new approaches towards problems will be adopted, he continued.
These three countries are seeking this new situation in pursuit of their interests, he explained.
Iraq, for its part, wants to shed the image that it is “subordinate” to Iran and instead head towards a “new Mashreq that can provide it with a better balance in relations with its surroundings and distance itself from hegemony,” Shmary said.
