Egypt, Jordan and Iraq hold tripartite summit in Baghdad to mend fences, boost economic ties

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II have held a tripartite summit with Iraqi officials in Baghdad to mend decades-long frosty ties, discuss regional developments and boost economic cooperation.

Egypt's el-Sisi, Iraqi President Barham Saleh and the Jordanian king met in the Iraqi capital on Sunday.  

An Egypt presidency statement said that the three leaders discussed several areas of regional interest, including the recent development on the Palestinian issue, combating terrorism and economic cooperation.

"The leaders stressed the need to intensify consultation and coordination between the three countries on the most important regional issues," the statement read.

Saleh, for his part, said that the meeting was "an eloquent message amid enormous regional challenges."

"Iraq's recovery paves the way to an integrated system for our region built on the fight against extremism, respect for sovereignty and economic partnership," the Iraqi president said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's office earlier said the summit would address topics including political and economic cooperation, in particular strengthening investment, and "joint efforts in the fight against terrorism."

Sisi is the first Egyptian president to visit Baghdad since Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's troops invaded Kuwait during the first Persian Gulf War.

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The first Persian Gulf War ruptured diplomatic relations between Iraq and Egypt, but ties have improved in recent years with senior officials from both countries exchanging visits.

The Jordanian king visited Iraq in early 2019 for the first time in 10 years.

The summit comes within the framework of the tripartite cooperation mechanism between the three countries, which held its first round in the Egyptian capital Cairo in March 2019.

Unholy alliance between Israel and Iraqi Kurdish separatists

After the occupation of Palestine in 1948 Israel tried to reach out to non Arab communities in West Asia and found the perfect candidate in the Iraqi Kurds who aspired to separate from Baghdad.

In recent years, Iraq has signed cooperation deals in the energy, health and education sectors with both countries.

Egypt signed 15 deals and memoranda of understanding in sectors including oil, roads, housing, construction and trade in February.

In December, Iraq's cabinet approved renewing its contract to supply the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) with 12 million barrels of Basra light crude for 2021.

Iraq is also planning to build a pipeline that is meant to export 1 million barrels per day of Iraqi crude from the southern city of Basra to Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba.

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