At the Jeddah summit, PM Proposes Establishing The Middle East Bank for Development and Integration

Baghdad / NINA / - Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi proposed to establish the Middle East Bank for Development and Integration. In his speech during the Jeddah Security and Development Summit, Al-Kadhimi said: "We meet today amid sensitive regional and international challenges, and also amid great hopes and aspirations that cooperation efforts, building bridges of trust, and giving precedence to the language of dialogue in order to achieve a safe and stable environment that guarantees a decent life for the peoples of the region." He added: Iraq, with the cooperation of its brothers, neighbors and friends, had a key role in fighting terrorism and defeating ISIS, but we still have an additional path to uprooting terrorism, which calls for strengthening national, regional and international efforts to develop a comprehensive strategy to combat terrorism and dry up its sources of financing through joint security cooperation and the exchange of information and experiences." He added, "The dangers created by the repercussions of the crisis in Ukraine require intensifying regional and international efforts to find quick solutions and unify efforts in the field of ensuring food security for our peoples and securing energy supplies." He pointed out that "the Middle East region has been significantly affected by the consequences of climate change, the water crisis and the dangers of desertification, in addition to all the health challenges following the emergence and spread of epidemics such as Coronavirus pandemic. All of these crises require that we move together and unite to confront them." He noted that "the age of the constitutional democratic system in Iraq is approaching two decades, after decades of dictatorship, and this emerging democracy is still progressing despite the great challenges and crises. But there are still political difficulties after the elections, and it emphasizes the need to preserve the principles of democracy in public life, which is a path that requires more time and accumulation of experience." He stressed that "the tripartite meetings and conferences that brought Iraq together with the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan have produced a common vision to open up the ranges of cooperation and integration in various fields, just as the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership was an expression of the historical ties that unite all the countries of the region. Iraq and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries have taken important steps to strengthen their relations aimed at achieving integration in various fields, and from this standpoint, we have concluded two electrical interconnection agreements with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and we are proceeding with the electrical linkage with Jordan and Egypt.” In the context of environmental cooperation between the brothers, Al-Kadhimi stated that "Iraq, although it remains an important oil producer, but this economic artery increases our environmental challenges. Therefore, we are working quickly to invest gas that is burned in oil fields, and we are expanding the scope of investment in alternative energy." He added, "Our countries, of which the younger generations constitute the largest proportion, face additional entitlements in terms of understanding the requirements of these generations, eager for progress and achievement, and their aspirations to exploit potentials and transform crises into opportunities." He continued. "In this context also, Iraq proposes to establish the Middle East Bank for Development and Integration in partnership with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Egypt and Jordan. The Bank is interested in sustainable regional development by financing infrastructure projects that would help link the economies of the region, and the Bank places in its priorities the development of networks regional electricity, oil and gas pipelines, highway networks, ports, airports and heavy industries with a large regional market, and it finances projects in the field of water resource management, desertification and climate change mitigation. Al-Kadhimi concluded his speech by saying, "We wish this summit to achieve its desired goals in the service of our countries, and to meet always to build a better future for the peoples of the region."/ End