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Iraq and Other Arab States

On 27 June 2021 Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II have met in Baghdad, during the first visit by an Egyptian head of state to Iraq since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990. The first Gulf War ruptured diplomatic relations between Iraq and Egypt, but these have improved in recent years with senior officials from both countries exchanging visits. The summit came within the framework of the tripartite cooperation mechanism between the three countries, which held its first round in Cairo in March 2019. The meetings are seen partly as an attempt to neutralise Iran’s influence across the region.

Senior Iraqi officials continued to focus on expanding their international engagement, but expressed wariness of undue outside influence in Iraq. On March 3, 2010, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appointed an ambassador to Kuwait, its first since the 1990 Iraqi invasion. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs began to assign its 58 newly trained ambassadors, but the process has proceeded at a slow pace due to the current transitional nature of the Government of Iraq. Observes expected the assignment of newly trained Iraqi ambassadors to increase after the seating of the new government.

The Iraqi government increased its efforts to garner regional and international support against the common threat of terrorism. The Expanded Neighbors Process continued to provide a forum to address political and security challenges. Continued participation provides an environment for Iraq to develop as a regional partner. In October 2009, the Iraqi government sent representatives to Egypt to participate in the sixth Neighbors Process working group on border security, in which the group sought ways to enhance and integrate border security systems in preparation for Iraq's 2010 parliamentary elections. Iraq also became a more active voice at the UN, advocating for international support as a means to combat terrorism in Iraq.

Although Iraq’s public declaration of Syrian complicity in the August 2009 Baghdad bombings complicated relations between Syria and Iraq and led to both nations recalling their ambassadors, there was an improvement in relations as Iraq’s Sunni and Shi’a political elites travelled to Damascus to discuss government formation. Although reduced public rhetoric and fewer negative media stories helped reduce tensions, official relations between the two countries remain stalled, and were unlikely to improve significantly until the new Iraqi government was seated in late 2010.

Baghdad took sides in the Syrian civil war. They permitted over-flights from Iran, which the U.S. would like them to stop. They provided other kinds of support to the Assad regime and turned something of a blind eye as Iraqi Shia - who moved into Syria to support the regime - crossed the Iraqi-Syrian border. This was even though Syria's war risked further undermining Iraq.

The Iraq-Kuwait bilateral relationship continued to be overshadowed by Chapter VII concerns, but there were signs of progress towards normalized relations. The most striking example was the naming of an Iraqi Ambassador to Kuwait after a 20-year hiatus. This post had been vacant since 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. According to Kuwaiti Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Khalid Al- Jarallah, the Kuwaiti government was pleased by the appointment of Mohammed Hussein, a man favorably known in Kuwait and sympathetic to their concerns. Pending official approval, the Ambassador will assume his post after the formation of the new Iraqi government. Under Secretary Al-Jarallah indicated that this appointment contributed to the Kuwaiti government’s belief that a positive trend was underway in Iraq that bodes favorably for the future of bilateral relations, and contributes to Kuwaiti optimism about the prospects of moving forward on contentious bilateral issues. He expressed appreciation for U.S. willingness to work with Kuwait in promoting more productive and neighborly relations with Iraq.

Although the Kuwaitis have indicated some willingness to reduce significantly the amount of compensation Iraq was paying under UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 687, they have insisted in return that the Government of Iraq reaffirm UNSCR 833 in its entirety, entailing acceptance of the land borders and maritime boundary between the two countries. Despite this, the Iraqi and Kuwaiti sides have continued to make significant progress cooperating on Kuwaiti missing persons and property. Chapter VII issues with Kuwait are likely to be resolved in the future, but remain a point of friction between the two countries. Like other politically sensitive issues, no movement was expected on this until after the new Iraqi government was seated.

Although relations between the Government of Iraq and Saudi Arabia remained strained, there are signs that the newly formed government would have more success in bringing Saudi Arabia to the table. After the elections on March 7, 2010, many of Iraq’s political leaders, including Jalal Talabani, Marsoud Barzani, Ammar al-Hakim, and Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi paid visits to Riyadh to discuss future cooperation between the two countries.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's relations with Saudi Arabia had always been strained. The Prime Minister consistently came up with harsh remarks accusing Saudi Arabia with inciting and openly funding terrorist movements and seeking to destabilize Iraq. Abdullateef Al-Zayani, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Countries, repeatedly condemned al-Maliki's allegations against Saudi Arabia, calling them irresponsible and in defiance of political and diplomatic norms.

In April 2014 al-Maliki slammed Saudi Arabia for supporting Middle Eastern terrorists, saying the policy had exacerbated the problems faced by Baghdad. Speaking in an interview with al-Manar TV, the politician stressed that Saudi Arabia's cherished dream to topple the regimes in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon will never come true. Al-Maliki urged the country to stop funding and arming terrorists in Syria and warned that this policy will back fire on Saudi Arabia and its neighboring countries when the Syrian war bursts its banks and spreads to other regions. The Prime Minister also called on Saudi Arabia to stop meddling with Iraq's affairs and start respecting Iraqi interests.

Commenting on the Syrian crisis, al-Maliki stressed that the Syrian opposition was composed of criminals, terrorists and murderers and addressed the international community with a plea to help the Syrian government confront these terrorist organizations. According to the Iraqi Prime Minister, a peaceful solution was the only possible way out of the ongoing civil war in Syria that had claimed the lives of over 150,000 people and driven a third of its entire population from their homes.