The text of the speech of Foreign Minister Mohamad A. Alhakim at League of Arab States Council meeting at Ministerial level / the regular 153rd session

In the name of of Allah the Merciful

Excellencies, Foreign Ministers, and heads of delegations of the fraternal Arab countries.

His Excellency Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary General of the League of Arab States.

Your Excellencies, Ambassadors, Permanent Delegates, and Distinguished Guests.

Peace, mercy and blessings of Allah

At the outset, allow me to welcome on behalf of the Honorable Council the Excellency Foreign Ministers who recently joined the Council of the League of Arab States at the level of Foreign Ministers, in particular His Excellency Dr. Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Foreign Minister of the fraternal Kingdom of Bahrain, and His Excellency Noureddine Al-Rai, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Tunisia, wishing them all the best of luck and success in their new work.

Excellencies and distinguished guests,

Iraq presided over the work of the 152th regular session of your esteemed Council, and that session from September 2019 to March 2020 witnessed important challenges and events that faced the course of joint Arab action, and the Council dealt with them in accordance with the Arab League Charter and the decisions of the Arab summits. The Council held a number of special sessions, and took the appropriate ministerial decisions and statements, especially the special session held by our Council at the request of the fraternal Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the background of the Prime Minister of the Zionist occupation’s intention to annex lands from the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley to its usurping entity, the Council discussed in another special session, the changes of the position of the United States regarding the consideration of Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories not contrary to international law. In its special session held on October 12, 2019, the council discussed the dangers of Turkish intervention in northeastern Syria, while His Excellency President Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, attended the special session of the Council held on the first of last February to discuss the plan of US President Donald Trump concerning the peace process in the Middle East, or what has become known as the deal of the century , as the Arab countries were unanimous in rejecting this plan, and developed an appropriate plan for Arab action at the international level and within the framework of the United Nations system and international law through an Arab agreed plan that affirms the right of the Palestinian people to an independent, unified and viable state with the occupied Alquds as its capital and the right of refugees to return to their homes under the supervision of the United Nations and based on international legitimacy resolutions.

In addition, the Council, at the level of permanent delegates, held a special session to discuss the issue of the Republic of Brazil opening a commercial and diplomatic office in Jerusalem, and the Presidency of the Council sent a letter to the Brazilian Foreign Minister, expressing the rejection of the Arab countries to this behavior, which would affect Arab-Brazilian relations, as we sent a similar message to the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Honduras because of his country’s intention to open a trade office in occupied Alquds.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We would also like to point out that our council discussed all issues that pertain to the Arab affairs, especially those of Yemen, Libya and Syria, and took appropriate decisions in this regard, while the council discussed for the first time the issue of waterways security and freedom of navigation in the Arab Gulf region, and securing the flow of energy supplies from this vital region to all parts of the world, which worried the world in the past months, against the backdrop of tensions between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this context, a number of initiatives and projects have been proposed that aim to form international alliances or establish an international naval force in the Arab Gulf region to protect the waterways, and here we would like to point out that Iraq does not support projects and plans that lead to raising the state of tension in the region, and we believe that countries concerned bordering the Arabian Gulf are able to protect the security of navigation, and able to secure the flow of energy supplies from this vital region.

The Presidency of the Council was keen to achieve the highest points of cooperation, coordination, communication and permanent consultation with Excellencies Arab Foreign Ministers and His Excellency the Secretary General and the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, to work to advance the pace of joint Arab action towards defending Arab issues in international forums.

During the 152nd session, the Presidency of the Council dealt with Arab issues out of Iraq’s keenness and support for all international and regional efforts and initiatives aimed at resolving the conflict in Libya, Syria and Yemen by peaceful means, renouncing military solutions, and the return of these countries to exercise their natural role in the Arab system, and in particular restoring Syria’s membership in the Arab League, with an emphasis on Iraq’s firm stance in support of the rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which is the establishment of an independent state with its capital of occupied Quds and that achieving stability in the region will not be achieved without finding a just and lasting solution to the issue of Palestine according to international legitimacy decisions.

Excellencies

Allow me to extend, in your name and on behalf of the delegation of the Republic of Iraq, thanks and gratitude to His Excellency the Secretary-General, the Assistant Secretaries-General, the directors of departments and employees for their cooperation in managing the work of the 152th session and the exceptional sessions that have taken place.

At the end of the work of the 152 session, I invite His Excellency Youssef bin Alawi, Foreign Minister of the Sultanate of Oman to take over the tasks of chairing the 153rd Session, with our sincere brotherly wishes for His Excellency, success in managing the work of our Arab Group towards further cooperation and connections

Peace, mercy and blessings of Allah

Mohamad A. Alhakim

Foreign Minister of the Republic of Iraq

4/3/2020