Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Concludes his Participation in Council of League of Arab States by Emphasizing Iraq’s Absolute Solidarity with Palestinian People

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, headed the Iraqi delegation participating in the 161st regular Session of the Council of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level, which was held on Wednesday, March 6, 2024 in the Arab Republic of Egypt, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States.

While his presence in Cairo, Minister Hussein held several bilateral meetings, political consultations, and press interviews as an indicator of high-level diplomatic efforts, to discuss the latest developments in the region, most notably the attack on Gaza, in addition to discussing ways of cooperation in area of economics, development, and enhancing stability.

On the sidelines of the ministerial meeting in Cairo, Deputy Prime Minister held a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Miqdad on March 5, 2024, in which they discussed the worsening conditions in the Gaza Strip, Minister Hussein stressed the necessity of adopting a joint and firm Arab stance to support the Palestinian people in achieving their legitimate rights. The two sides also reviewed the topics on the agenda of the Arab Summit in its 33rd session, which will be hosted by the brotherly Kingdom of Bahrain, Minister Hussein indicated the necessity of holding a meeting of the contact group on Syria, which was formed by the Arab League, and the importance of holding its meeting in the near future, expressing Baghdad’s readiness to host the committee. Within the framework of bilateral relations, economic relations were discussed, including those related to Syrian agricultural products and facilitating the procedures for exporting them to Iraq, Minister Hussein also affirmed the importance of continuing the release of Iraq’s share of the Euphrates water.

On his part, the Syrian Minister demonstrated his country’s responsiveness in addressing this issue, confirming the release of Iraq’s water share.

On the second day of the meetings, Minister Hussein headed the Iraqi delegation to the 161st regular Session of the Council of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level, His Excellency participated in the consultative meetings prior to the regular session, and referred in his speech to the stance of the Republic of Iraq in supporting the resilience of the Palestinian people, who are facing policies of revenge and collective punishment by the Israeli army in Gaza on a daily basis, which threatens more tension, and hinders reaching a fair and final solution to the Palestinian cause, stressing the Republic of Iraq’s absolute solidarity with the Palestinian people in achieving their ambitions, their right to self-determination, and the exercise of this right by the people and their legitimate representatives.

Minister Hussein also held a press conference at the headquarters of the Arab League in which he referred to the Iraqi Council of Ministers’ decision to allocate $25 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA), indicating the importance of the agency’s efforts to alleviate the burdens of the Palestinian people by providing medical and relief supplies that have become essential for the sustenance of life in Palestine, calling on other countries to support UNRWA.

In addition, the Minister conducted a special television interview with AlHadath, in which he discussed Iraqi-Gulf relations and the Development Road, as well as other economic and security topics.